The Worst Game in History
by Noriko Nanahara
Summary: For several years, various organizations have been destroyed at the hands of young teenagers. In an attempt to get revenge, the Team Leaders gather together to pit the Pokedex Holders, and others, into a fight to the death, where only one can survive. [Battle Royale AU]
1. Chapter 1

Once the plans were finalized, they were brought into effect almost immediately. It was a simple plan, according to the concept, and the main brains behind it were astounded that none of them had ever thought to try something like this before. The so-called main brains behind this operation were all masterminds, intelligent people who had been defeated by children, many as young as eleven years old.

It was something to be a lot more than embarrassed about.

The masterminds behind this project had been shamed, became laughing stocks, and lost their own grunts, then under the belief that maybe, just _maybe, _what they were doing wasn't the right thing. In the end, their plans had come to nothing. That was the one element that all of them had in common. Along with the unbearable feelings of shame came the wish for revenge. For many of those in mind, that wish stuck with them, right until they were finally able to execute a plan like this.

After Team Plasma had disbanded, Ghetis was approached by Giovanni. Together, they approached others, such as Pryce, Charon, and Lysandre, who had been taken down by exceptional children, pitching their newly found idea. With Charon working on the technology needed for such a large project, and approximately seven months later, they were ready to put their plan in action.

To start off, they contacted the various Pokedex Holders, and others chosen. Pryce took care of contacting the Hoenn residents, as both potential people who could contact them were deceased by that point.

Contacting them was simple. Ghetis took a slightly original turn, inviting six of the teenagers to a World Tournament, where Black assumed they were invited to take part, and the two newer additions assuming they were brought to spectate. There was a seventh, but offered to take care of that seventh person personally.

Lysandre contacted the five teenagers chosen by Sycamore to explore the region. Anonymously, he invited them to take a tour of Lumiose Tower, also known as the fifth gym. X had been reluctant to accept, briefly worrying Lysandre, but Y quickly convinced him to go. Everything had fallen into place.

As for the four other regions, Giovanni, Pryce and Charon had taken the simple approach of requesting that each of the Pokedex holders to come visit their local labs in an urgent matter, forging their signatures as each of the professors. Given each of the chosen participants' natures, it had been simple to get them to come along. In fact, the only time suspicions were raised was in Kanto.

Green had been the first to arrive at the lab, and waited outside the door for at least one other person to arrive. Soon enough, he spotted Red hurrying along, his Venusaur slowly trudging along behind him. As Red waved animatedly, indicating that he spotted Green, the other teenager raised his hand slightly in a gesture of greeting him, before opening the rusted door to the laboratory. He mentally decided that, with the money he received from his next victory at the gym, he would repair the door, considering his grandfather wouldn't.

"Hey! Wait up!" Red called out, breaking into a run. Saur looked like he was struggling to keep up, but eventually reached the door as well.

Once Red caught up, Green entered the lab, the other boy following quickly behind. The Pokemon struggled to fit through the door, but squeezed through, looking around the lab he had been briefly brought up in.

"Do you have any idea why the Professor called us here?" Red asked, running his finger absentmindedly along the corner of a desk. Green shrugged.

"He must've been as vague with you as he was with me. I just got a message from him to get here as soon as possible. Don't you find it strange that he's not here, since it's so urgent?" he asked.

"Oh, didn't notice that. But still, if it _is _urgent, he'll probably be here soon anyway."

Green rolled his eyes at Red's lack of concern over the immediate strange situation. He took a seat by one of the tables, and rested his cheek on his palm. Red looked as if he was trying to find something to say to keep their conversation going, but couldn't think of anything. The only sounds in the room were the ticking of a clock and Saur's loud breathing.

The near-silence was broken several minutes later. Blue opened the door to the lab with a bang, and bounded over to the two boys. Yellow silently followed her in, closing the door quietly behind her.

"He's not even here!" Blue immediately exclaimed.

"I didn't think there was any reason to rush", Yellow added, joining the other three.

Green was about to voice his suspicions, when the previously content Venusaur started looking around. Red's attention was immediately focused on him, and he furrowed his brows in confusion when the peaceful Pokemon started letting out his own strange growl.

"What's wrong with him?" Yellow asked, concerned. Red knelt down by Saur, petting the top of his head.

"I have no idea. He never acts like this. What's wrong?" he said worriedly.

Yellow was about to kneel down by Red's side, offering her assistance, when there was a sudden sound of a bang from the table. Red, Yellow and Blue looked over immediately, and saw Green was slumped over on the table, his eyes shut.

"What the hell just happened?" Blue muttered. Saur's growling grew louder, and Red's eyes were darting between the Pokemon and his friend, who seemed to have fallen asleep without a sudden warning.

At that point, Red felt confused, and was trying to make sense of what was going on. The point where he began to panic was when Blue began to sway, mutter something incoherent, and fall to the floor. Her breathing was soft, and sounded as if she was taking a peaceful nap.

Yellow stood between Blue and Red, and after less than a second of deliberation, she reached out to the boy.

"Something's not right! We have to... to..." she began, but couldn't continue. Red watched in alarm as her eyelids lowered, and she crashed to the floor, too, joining the other three.

Everything had happened in less than a minute. Red almost forgot about worrying about Saur, and merely took note of Yellow's last words of advice. She was completely right about something not being right. As he was the only one left, he knew he had to escape, and find some kind of help.

When he attempted to stand up, Red found that his knees felt like jelly, and he fell right back down after attempting to stand up. _Whatever got to them is after getting to me, _he thought, his eyes briefly falling over his sleeping friends.

"Saur, bring me to the door", he said, and realized it was hard to speak. Red's commands had been lost on Saur, who had fallen asleep several seconds before he did. His eyelids felt heavy, and he couldn't stop himself from leaning against the table. After a few seconds, his eyesight grew blurry, and before he knew it, his eyelids were closing as well, and consciousness was quickly slipping away. Less than a second later, he was asleep too.

Approximately fifteen minutes later, four of Team Rocket's grunts entered the room. They bundled up the quartet, ignoring the Venusaur sleeping on the floor. Carrying the four strong trainers in their arms, they did their best to look inconspicuous. Luckily, it was a quiet day in the area, and nobody could be seen outside.

Docked towards the end of the town was a small boat. Piling the four sleeping into the boat, they untied the rope that was previously keeping the boat docked. Then, the four grunts set out for the chosen island for this experiment. There was hardly any conversation, and none of those sleeping stirred.

* * *

><p>Several hours later, Red woke up.<p>

The first thing that he noticed was that his cheek was resting on the cool surface of wood. Opening his eyes slightly, he realized that he was seated at a desk. Even though he did not go there very long, Red recognized it as a type of school desk, and immediately became confused. The last thing he remembered was watching all his friends suddenly become unconscious in Professor Oak's laboratory, and there was no way they were still there.

_What's going on? Why am I in a school of all places?, _Red wondered, opening his eyes fully. With some effort, he managed to sit up. The first thing he realized was that it was dark. When Red went to the lab, it was still clearly bright outside. He began to worry about how long he had been asleep, but those worries were quickly pushed aside for others as his eyes began to adjust.

Looking to his left and his right, he did not spot the other three. Instead, Red realized that he was surrounded by his juniors. Seated at the desk to his right was Kris, fast asleep. To his right was a boy he did not recognize. The boy had mid-length, straight black hair, and glasses. In front of him, he recognized one of his juniors from Hoenn; Emerald.

_Why are they all here?!_

He continued to look from side to side, taking in all the new and familiar faces. He spotted Green, Blue and Yellow as he looked, much to his relief. His panic was replaced by dread when he looked at the front of the room, however.

Standing there were various men. There were a few he did not recognize, but two in particular, Red was more than familiar with. One of those men was the Mahogany Gym Leader, Pryce. _I thought he was gone for good, _he thought, but his attention was focused on one other.

His eyes met Giovanni's, who smirked upon seeing that Red was awake. The two stared at each other for several seconds, before the older man tapped the side of his neck three times. Red raised an eyebrow at his weird gesture, and looked downwards. Absentmindedly, he copied Giovanni's gesture, and immediately froze.

He felt metal.

Quickly feeling what was wrapped around his neck, Red realized that it was some kind of collar. He immediately began to feel for some kind of latch that would release him, but found nothing.

As he was feeling the strange object around his neck, he heard tired groans of others, and saw more people raising their heads off their desks. About five minutes later, everyone was awake. The room was filled with the buzz of quiet conversation, all sounding lost and confused. Some, like Red, had noticed the collars placed around their necks, and were beginning to panic.

"This isn't the Pokemon World Tournament!" one boy exclaimed, standing up. Everyone turned to look at him, dumbfounded he did something so idiotic.

"Black, sit down. You're making a scene", the glasses-clad boy hissed, sounding a little embarrassed. The boy, Black, seemed to take no notice of his friend's comment, and continued glaring at the men at the top of the room.

"Sit_ down_. Everything will be explained", one man snapped, reaching for something hidden in his jacket. Platinum Berlitz, who was seated at the top of the room, identified him immediately as Charon.

Black hesitated for a few seconds, continuing to glare at the men, before sitting back down. He folded his arms across his chest and avoided eye contact with them. Throughout the small exchange, everyone in the room had grown quiet.

"So, I take it you all slept well?" a green-haired man spoke up, clasping his hands together. He had a gentle smile on his face, but something about it had a fake, even sinister, quality to it. An audible gasp could be heard from the back of the room. The man ignored it.

"Forget the small talk. Who are you guys?!" Emerald quizzed impatiently. Everyone, with the exception of Ruby and Sapphire, turned to him, eyebrows raised. They seemed shocked that he had no idea who they were.

_Wait. Giovanni targeted the Kanto Dex holders, us. Pryce attacked the Johto Dex holders. I don't know about the others, but the people who targeted our juniors from Hoenn are dead. So that means that the other men there are...?, _Red wondered, looking at the juniors he had not yet met.

"I believe everyone else in this room is _very _familiar with at least one of us, Emerald. Two of us, in some circumstances", the green-haired man explained, "Allow me to introduce ourselves to our three clueless contestants."

_Contestants?_

"My name is Ghetsis. I can see a few of you recognize me as the leader of Team Plasma. On my right is Lysandre, the leader of Team Flare. To my left are Charon, scientist of Team Galactic; Pryce, a Gym Leader from Johto; and Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket. We're all _delighted _to see some familiar faces again", the man, Ghetsis, introduced. His sarcastic comment was not met with any particular responses.

"Why are we here? And who are these people, exactly?" Platinum said, her tone hesitant. She glanced around at the unfamiliar faces, intimidated by the fact that she only knew two people, excluding Charon, in the room.

Ghetsis looked over at Giovanni, who nodded. He took a step forward, and placed his hands behind his back. He looked over the teenagers in the room, and for a moment, felt like a teacher watching over his students. Behind him, Pryce grabbed a piece of chalk underneath the board, and began to write in large letters, "THE PROGRAM".

"The majority of you, in this room, know us very well. You all have something in common; you've shamed us. To think, almost _every _one of us, up here, with the exception of Lysandre, were defeated by children, no older than _eleven_ at the time! Have any of you considered the consequences of that?" Giovanni began.

"We all know you're no longer a Gym Leader", Blue spoke up.

"Yes, but I consider that a minor thing. We've all lost any hope of achieving our goals. In the process of attempting to stop our plans, you all had a tendency to destroy what resources we had."

"Not cheap resources, either", Charon grumbled.

"We can no longer recruit any grunts, and we're basically powerless. It's shameful_, _from nearly achieving the goals we always wished to, to _this. _We're all laughing stocks, and there's a pattern we've noticed. It's always because of people like _you", _Giovanni continued. His eyes locked on Dia's, who seemed to shrink under his harsh glare.

"So, we gathered together and decided to ensure that nothing like that would ever happen again. As you can see, this little punishment is called "The Battle Royale Program". We've gathered you all here today for one purpose."

The man took in a deep breath, as if he was waiting for this moment. The teenagers leant forward, listening intently to what he had to say. A few had turned pale, already assuming the worst.

"You are all going to kill each other, until only one of you is left alive. This is our punishment."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>First of all, thank you for reading my story! I hope you're enjoying it so far.

Now, as a warning, considering this is a fight to the death, there will definitely be violence and murder. I haven't sussed out the finer details yet, so I can't say for sure what trigger warnings there'll be. Once it's decided, I'll add them as additional tags!

Secondly, I've bumped up and down some of the ages for the sake of convenience. It won't affect the story too heavily! Also, I've decided to refer to the BW2 protagonists as Rakutsu and Faitsu. I think they flow much more smoothly than Lack-Two and Whi-Two when it comes to writing.

As for pairings, for now, I'm staying quiet about it, but they'll definitely be revealed as time goes on. This isn't a romance story, though, so don't be disappointed at the lack of romantic scenes. They will still be there, though!

I'm really interested in seeing what you think of it so far, so if you could leave a comment below, that would be great!


	2. Chapter 2

Despite the fact that the room was filled with people who were usually boisterous, loud, and refused to remain quiet when things became difficult, the room was dead silent.

"You're kidding, right?" Gold scoffed. Despite his attempt to sound casual, his words came out in a shaky tone.

"We wouldn't joke about something like this. You're all really, truly going to kill each other. Now, unless any of you have any further questions, will I explain the rules?" Giovanni asked.

Gold scowled, and looked as if he had more to say, but decided against speaking once more. Everyone else seemed to be dazed, or merely too afraid to speak up at all.

"I'll take that as a no. Anyway, moving on. The Program is a death competition. Various groups have toyed with the idea, but no one has attempted to push it forward, but that's all changed now. We believe we have the right technology to begin this, and you will all be the proof that this experiment does work.

"It's a very basic concept, really. You've been brought to an evacuated island, with the help of my grunts. In a few minutes, as you leave this classroom, you will be handed a duffel bag with various items. Food, water, a map, and a weapon chosen at random. When it comes to killing, there's nothing that will be against the rules."

"What if we refuse to take part?" Black asked, sounding slightly cocky about his idea.

"I was getting to that. You _will _have to play. If you don't leave the classroom within two minutes of your name being called, you will be killed by one of us on the spot. If you do go outside and choose not to play, that's fine, but that can't go on for very long. You see, if no one dies in twenty four hours, all of your collars will detonate immediately. You'll all die, and there will be no winner."

With that explanation, various people touched the collars around their necks. They looked at each other helplessly.

"Giovanni, you didn't explain the collars", Lysandre interrupted, noticing how nervous the participants looked.

"My bad. The collars around your necks are what we use to track you. It records your pulse, and once it detects there is no sign of life, we will know. Of course, it also serves for other purposes. If you try and pry it off, or if you try to escape this island, it will detonate. We don't recommend trying it", Giovanni explained. He let out a sigh, sounding tired from explaining so much. Sitting down, he looked up at Charon to continue.

"Right, ahem. I'll explain the danger zones next", Charon began, "Once you get your maps, you'll see that the island is divided up into various sectors, such as E-1, C-2, etcetera. Every six hours, we'll announce the names of those who have died, as well as danger zones. Once an area becomes a danger zone, you cannot go into it. If you do, the collar will explode. We don't want that, do we? To put it simply, avoid danger zones. Oh, also, the school will become a danger zone twenty minutes after the last student has left, so don't wait for anyone."

Charon took a step back, and waited for Giovanni to get up again. In that time, everyone kept to themselves, almost afraid to look to the others. They were all trying to convince themselves that they were surrounded by good people, and no one would ever kill. Many of them, however, could not shake the suspicion that, under dire circumstances, they would be driven to extremes.

After a few seconds, Giovanni stood up once more. He paced to the front of the desk, causing those in the front row to edge back slightly.

"Now, we know that this group is made up of people with great morals. In fact, we even doubted whether or not you would kill. So, after some deliberation, we decided to bring in two people of our own to get the game up and running. They're not special; they knew as well as you did that you were coming here."

With that, everyone began to look around the room immediately to spot the two extras. After a few seconds of searching, Red saw the back of Lance's head at the top of the room. His spiked red hair, and strange outfit, was impossible to miss. _It's no problem, though. He's changed, hasn't he? And even if he hasn't, he's afraid of Yellow. We're fine. He won't hurt us._

"We won't leave you in suspense. The first person we have brought in is Lance, a member of Kanto's Elite Four. I'm certain some of you are already acquainted with him", Giovanni introduced, nodding his head towards Lance. The younger man ignored him, and continued to look straight ahead.

"The second person we brought in is, in fact, Ghetsis' child. N, the king of Team Plasma, and certainly well acquainted with some of you from Unova." Giovanni pointed towards the back of the room. Towards the left, a man with long, green hair, and a simplistic outfit on, approximately the same age of Lance, sat there. He looked slightly confused upon having all eyes on him.

The men at the front of the room didn't miss the way that they looked more distrustingly at N. They all understood immediately why, given the fact that the first piece of information Giovanni gave out was that N had a connection to one of the supervisors.

"If you're thinking that anyone related to the supervisors will be given special treatment, think again. As I said, they were under no impression that they would be coming here either. So, in case anyone in this room thinks they'll receive special treatment because of who you're related to, you are _sorely _mistaken", Giovanni stated clearly.

He glared down towards the middle aisle, where Silver was seated. The red-haired boy was clutching the sides of his desk, visibly shaking. He tried to maintain a cold expression, but failed to, with his father staring at him with such harshness. He looked downwards.

Once he did, Giovanni looked around at the various students around the room. Many of the teenagers had confused, blank looks upon their faces. It was slightly alarming that they merely looked as if someone had just wrote an overly complicated mathematic equation on the board.

"They still don't seem to understand", Lysandre spoke quietly.

"What isn't there to understand? Children, if any of you have questions, we'll happily answer them before we let you go outside", Pryce offered.

Everyone in the room was silent for a moment. Pryce folded his arms across his chest, waiting for someone to speak up. Several seconds later, Kris raised her hand uncertainly.

"You have a question?" Pryce asked.

"Yes. Do you know the age of the youngest person in this room?" she questioned. Gold looked back at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course. The youngest in this room would be... this young man aged thirteen, correct?" Pryce said, pointing to Trevor. The short boy nodded his head, going pale.

"How many other children are taking part in this?" Kris asked, her tone losing its calm qualities.

"We have a few. Half of the participants from Unova, and all those from Kalos, are thirteen. I take it that'll clear any suspicions you have."

"Yes, I suppose so. I take it you also know that there are eighteen year olds in this room? How can you pit people with such a large age difference against each other?! You're asking them to die!" Kris snapped, half raised from her seat. The younger participants were beginning to look more and more nervous at that announcement.

"The oldest people in this room are twenty, actually. Don't forget about our two other contestants. Apart from that, we did bring that into consideration. For starters, it would have been much more complicated to assign you to different sectors so you would all be within your age groups. Secondly, given your skills, we've arrived at the conclusion that age clearly plays no part in your skills. We have predicted champions and high-ranking police members amongst us, after all", Pryce explained.

Kris bit her lip, looking clearly unsatisfied with his explanation. Her fingers lightly brushed her collar, and she knew that trying any acts of defiance would result in the metallic device exploding. Slowly and reluctantly, she sat back down.

A few seats ahead of her sat Yellow. Out of everyone, she still looked the most confused, as if she were still dreaming. Throughout Kris' argument with Pryce, she had paid no attention to it, and instead searched through her belt. The felt rings, which usually held Pokeballs, were now empty. She shoved a hand into her pocket, trying to see if she had misplaced them.

"Yellow, is everything alright?" Giovanni asked.

"I... um... Yes, it is", she mumbled.

"If you're wondering, you didn't lose your Pokemon. We knew some of you would keep them with you at all times for safekeeping, but we couldn't let you keep them. We're not stupid. If you had been allowed to keep them, we figured that you would have used them against us. As we said before, this experiment will be foolproof. Don't worry; the winner will be given their belongings back once the game ends", he explained, having clearly caught on to what she was doing. Yellow removed her hand from her pocket, biting her lip.

"Hey, you have time for one more question?" Sapphire spoke up.

"Go ahead."

"You guys _really _think the professors won't notice that we're missing? Someone's gonna notice sooner or later", she said, sounding proud of her discovery.

"Do you honestly believe we didn't think of that? Our grunts are keeping a close eye on each region, and if anyone voices their suspicions, they'll be reassured in one way or another", Giovanni replied nonchalantly.

"And what does _one way or another _mean?!" Green snapped. Several people turned towards him, surprised by his sudden outburst.

"We've left that up to the Commanders. If they have any brains, things won't get messy, so just concentrate on your own game."

Many of the teenagers sitting there looked at each other in disgust and disbelief that he had the nerve to call something like this a _game. _As they did, Charon pushed through the clutter of supervisors. Sliding the partition, he revealed a stack of bags, thrown lazily on a cart.

"We've had our question and answer session, but we can't waste any more time. I understand you're still in disbelief about this, but once you leave this school, people will certainly begin to play. Anyway, your weapons in here. We'll be calling out your names in alphabetical order by first name. Lysandre, write down the names of the students who left", Giovanni instructed.

Lysandre nodded, grabbing a piece of chalk. Giovanni pulled a folded piece of paper out of his jacket pocket, and unfolded it. Holding it out in front of him, he called out the first name.

"Bianca."

A blonde, ditzy-looking young girl let out a squeak from the first row. She looked back, her eyes wide and terrified. When she saw how Black and Cheren kept their eyes downwards, she shakily stood up. Walking slowly towards the front of the room, Giovanni looked like he was becoming more and more impatient. Charon handed Bianca her green duffel bag, and pointed to the door. Lowering her head, she left the classroom slowly.

"Black. And don't move as slowly."

In contrast, Black hopped up from his seat, teeth clenched together. Making his way quickly through the desks, he snatched the next duffel bag from Charon's arms. Without sparing another glance back at the classroom, he ran out. His loud footsteps could be heard clearly, until they were able to confirm he had left the building.

"Blue."

A soft sigh was heard from the back of the room. Blue stood up from her seat, and flattened out her skirt. As she walked up the aisle, she briefly stopped by Silver's desk, and gave his shoulder a brief squeeze. When Silver looked up with raised eyebrows, she had already moved towards the top of the classroom, looking straight ahead. No one missed the way she glared at Charon as she received her bag, causing the scientist to return the look with offense.

* * *

><p>This process of role-call continued for quite a while, as Giovanni left a two minute interval between the calling of each name. Blue was nowhere near the last student to show her frustration toward Charon, some worrying that someone would end up using physical violence against him. Nothing like that happened, making the process feel longer. Slowly, the number of empty tables increased, along with the tense atmosphere in the room. By the time Trevor left the room, only four remained.<p>

"White."

Blinking rapidly, White looked around the room at the remaining students. She had begun to cry shortly after Black had left, and had yet to stop. She almost stumbled towards the top of the room, where Charon practically shoved the bag against her chest. He was clearly becoming fed up with handing out bags.

"X."

The boy who had been previously staring at the board absentmindedly immediately stood up. His head remained lowered as he walked towards Charon, holding out his arms to receive his bag.

"Psst, X! Plea-" Y began to speak, but was quickly interrupted.

"No interfering with the others before the game! If you speak up once more, you'll be killed before you leave the room!" Ghetsis snapped. Y immediately became quiet. X had taken no notice of the scene behind him, and left the classroom quietly.

"Y."

The girl who had been previously scolded by Ghetsis stood up. She looked back over her shoulder at the last person in the classroom, before looking straight ahead once more. Avoiding eye contact with Ghetsis, Y took her bag and ran out of the classroom, her footsteps light and dainty.

"And lastly, Yellow", Giovanni announced, before sitting down once more.

Yellow stood up slowly, once again clutching the empty hooks around her belt. She walked towards the front of the classroom, and received the last bag sitting on the cart. Before she left, she looked back at the classroom, noting how empty it was. _It wasn't too long ago everyone was sitting in here. Everyone's out there now. Who knows what's happened out there while I've been sitting here?, _Yellow thought.

Not wanting to spend another minute alone in the classroom with the supervisors, she ran out of the classroom, and into a dark corridor. At the end of the corridor were fluid lights from outside, illuminating the battle ground that waited before her. Pushing her fears aside, Yellow ran out into the unknown.

In the classroom, Giovanni was seated at the teacher's chair. The other supervisors were sitting in the front row, looking exhausted from their introduction to their game. Lysandre remained standing, finishing up the last name on the board, before admiring his work.

_Bianca, F, 15, Unova._

_Black, M, 15, Unova._

_Blue, F, 18, Kanto._

_Cheren, M, 15, Unova._

_Crystal, F, 16, Johto._

_Diamond, M, 14, Sinnoh._

_Emerald, M, 15, Hoenn._

_Faitsu, F, 13, Unova._

_Gold, M, 16, Johto._

_Green, M, 18, Kanto._

_Hugh, M, 13, Unova._

_Lance, M, 20, Kanto._

_N, M, 20, Unova._

_Pearl, M, 14, Sinnoh._

_Platinum, F, 14, Sinnoh._

_Rakutsu, M, 13, Unova._

_Red, M, 18, Kanto._

_Ruby, M, 15, Hoenn._

_Sapphire, F, 15, Hoenn._

_Shauna, F, 13, Kalos._

_Silver, M, 16, Johto._

_Tierno, M, 13, Kalos._

_Trevor, M, 13, Kalos._

_White, F, 15, Unova._

_X, M, 13, Kalos._

_Y, F, 13, Kalos._

_Yellow, F, 17, Kanto._

Clutching his throbbing hand, Lysandre put down the piece of chalk, and took a seat in the front row. He scanned through all the names, wondering how many of them would survive the night, and whose name would be the only one not crossed out.

Despite the fact that many of the contestants were known for their morals and selfless behaviour, he knew that they would show their most hideous sides in a situation like this. It would happen faster than any of them would think. As soon as they left the classroom, the fight to the death had officially begun.

**_27 Remaining._**


	3. Chapter 3

When Kris arrived outside the school, her heart was pounding at a rapid pace. The first thing she did was unzip her day pack, and rummage around. She found the bread and water with no trouble, but none of those items mattered to her. What she needed to ensure at that moment was that she had a good weapon.

She knew immediately that she would never use it for any purpose other than self defense. Hell, she doubted if she would even use it _then. _Kris wasn't eager to die, but she couldn't even think about the idea of killing another human being to ensure she would live.

Shaking her head, Kris continued to try and convince herself that none of this was happening in the real world. Even if it was, someone would come and rescue them before it would be too late. As she continued to deny the current events to herself, she felt her fingers curl over a cold, metallic chain. In a swift motion, Kris pulled the object out of her bag. With two wooden pieces at the end of each chain, she immediately identified them as nun-chucks.

Clutching the weapon tightly, it occurred to her that she had no idea how to use these things. She closed her eyes and sat down on the ground, concealing herself within the tall grass. _Your weapon isn't important. You've decided not to fight, remember?, _she scolded herself. Although it would have been nice to have a stronger sense of security, Kris convinced herself that getting a weapon she couldn't use was not the end of the world for her.

In the time that it had taken her to retrieve her weapon and have an internal conversation, she had missed Dia leaving the school. Standing up once more, Kris had only realized this when she saw the back of the boy's head. His posture seemed relaxed as he walked, and she briefly considered calling out to him. She quickly decided against it once she saw who left the school next.

As he bounded out of the school, he looked terrified, but his idea to run quickly ended once he tripped over his platforms, landing face first into the grassy patch. When he groaned, Kris laid a hand on his shoulder and gently pulled him up, causing him to flail his arms.

"Emerald, it's me! You do remember me, right?" Kris reassured the boy, laying a hand on his arm.

"Kris?" Emerald spoke, softer than usual. His previous look of terror was replaced by one of calmness. The older girl smiled at him.

"Can you stand up?" she asked, offering him her hand. He nodded, keeping his hand at his side and standing up once more.

She looked at him in relief, but it was only briefly. Once Emerald had wiped his face clean of any dirt, he began to walk further into the grass. He turned back towards Kris.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked.

"I waited out here to gather allies... I know it isn't much, but it's a start to preventing any deaths. Even if I can't recruit everyone, I want to have my two best friends by my side, at least. Don't you want to wait for Sapphire and Ruby? You get along with them, don't you?" she explained, prodding him to stay. Emerald shook his head briskly, his relieved expression being replaced by one of paranoia.

"That won't work! Didn't you see those two weirdos in the classroom? They're going to try and kill us, and if they got a decent weapon, we'll be goners if we stay around here. Ruby and Sapphire come out after them, and I'm not risking anything!" he refuted, before looking downwards.

"But, I... Well, I don't really wanna be alone. In something like this, it'd be nice to even have one person on my side, and I trust you a lot. Come with me, and we can figure out one way or another to meet up with whoever you want to", he offered, losing his aura of anger and determination. Instead, Emerald looked more like a lost, timid child.

Kris stood there for a moment, lost in deliberation. When it came to allies, Gold and Silver were her top priority, and she knew Gold would come out before Lance and N. But, would Emerald be willing to wait around that long? He was terrified, clearly, and with reason. She promised herself she wouldn't suspect any of the other Dex holders, but it was impossible to tell whether or not they would play. In fact, it occurred to her that she knew nothing about those from Sinnoh, Unova or Kalos.

On top of that, she couldn't leave Emerald go alone. Every time she saw him, all she saw was the terrified boy from several years ago, who looked much younger than he should. She had always felt a motherly instinct towards those younger than her, and especially one for Emerald, even if he was much more confident and bold than he was all those years ago.

It would hurt so much, and Kris knew, to leave before Gold or Silver came out, but Emerald was also leaving behind Ruby and Sapphire. Besides, if things worked in their favour, they would meet up with their close friends before anything could happen. _Well, nothing is exactly in our favour right now, to be perfectly honest, _she thought.

Trying to look like she was happy with this plan, she held her hand out to Emerald, who took it, and began to run. The school became smaller and smaller in the distance, and they seemed to be running between trees more frequently with every step. She caught up with his pace quickly, and before they knew it, she was taking the lead.

"I was thinking of finding a large, sheltered place. If we find one by luck, we can hide there. If not, we'll stop soon and check our maps", Kris explained, turning back to Emerald.

"Alright, sounds good to me. Hey, uh, Kris. I just want to say that I'm sorry", he mumbled, sounding like he had just been caught doing something he shouldn't have. Kris furrowed her brows.

"No, it's okay. You had a good point, and we can't risk our lives until we get adjusted to this kind of scenario. I did want to meet up with my friends, but I'm not upset. Okay?" she reassured him. He didn't look any less guilty.

"If you're not upset, why are you crying?" he asked.

In surprise, she pressed her fingers against her cheeks, and discovered they were wet. Not wanting to admit exactly how upset she was, she turned towards the forest once more, and continued running, Emerald following in tow.

* * *

><p>The first thing Red did when he arrived outside was look for Blue and Green. He assumed, in false hope, that one of them would remain out here and wait for him. If he had left before them, he was certain in nearly every circumstance that he would have done the same. When he did arrive, though, no one was in sight.<p>

Frowning, Red tried to think of his next plan of action. The first thing that crossed his mind was to look for either of his friends, but then remembered that he was in a completely unfamiliar area. Besides, Lance and N had left before him, and if he ran into either of them, there was a possibility that he would have to fight, or allow himself to be killed. Unsurprisingly, he didn't want to reach that point yet.

In a moment of optimism, he realized that there were still a few people he knew that had yet to come out. Yellow would be the last out of the classroom, and she would definitely trust him. Also, Silver was still in there, and although he only met his juniors from Hoenn once, he had a feeling that he could trust them too.

Speaking of his Hoenn juniors, as he was deliberating his plan of action, Ruby left the building. Red was tempted to call out to him, but remained quiet. Instead of walking in any particular direction, the boy faced the school, as if he was waiting for someone. _He's already formed a plan of action?, _Red thought, watching him intently.

The two minutes passed by quickly. The sound of loud footsteps could be heard quickly approaching the door. The next thing Red saw was one of the other contestants from Hoenn, Sapphire, exit the building, and her eyes grew wide immediately. She tossed her bag to the floor, ran towards Ruby, and pulled him into, what looked like, an incredibly tight hug.

"You idiot! What if there was a killer out here?! Why did you... Did you wait for me?" Sapphire asked, her tone growing from snappy to shocked and timid.

She buried her head in the crook of Ruby's neck, and Red could see her shoulders rise and fall shakily. It wasn't hard to tell that she had broken down in tears. Ruby was gently rubbing her back in a circular motion. Red looked on at the scene awkwardly, feeling as if he was invading a private, intimate moment.

"I'd be a bigger idiot if I left you behind. Listen. I don't think it's safe to stay out here. Let's go find somewhere to stay for the night, and we'll figure out everything then. How does that sound?" Ruby offered.

"Okay- Oh, dammit! I left my bag just sitting there!" Sapphire groaned, noticing her discarded day pack.

Red watched as she picked it up and tossed it over her shoulder. The two young teenagers nodded at each other, looking confident, despite the fact Sapphire still had tears in her eyes. If Red wasn't mistaken, Ruby wasn't exactly dry-eyed, either.

As he observed them, he missed his chance to call out to them. He had been caught off guard by the sudden emotional display, and how quick they agreed to ally with each other. Then again, Red figured that those two must have been just as close as he was to people from his own region.

One thing he didn't forget was how terrified Sapphire had looked, and how she had broke down in Ruby's arms mere seconds after leaving the school. Even though he didn't know her well, Red knew that Sapphire was a strong girl, and yet even someone like her couldn't take the pressure. He couldn't help but wonder if Green or Blue were in similar mental conditions at that point, and decided that, no matter how big the island was, he had to find them. Although he felt terrible about leaving Yellow behind, he knew that Green or Blue would also prioritize him.

He unzipped his pack and took out his map, taking note of the island. Various areas of interest were marked on it, such as housing estates, a clinic, a store, and so on. Even though Red had nothing to go off of, all he decided he could do was pick the more memorable spots for starters, and eliminate them one by one until he found his two closest friends.

* * *

><p>The first pair of contestants to have found a brief resting area were in D-2. A small cottage stood on a small hill overlooking the beach below. The cottage wasn't marked on the map, due how tiny it was. The hill was a small one, so the crashing of the tide against the hill made the two inside feel as if the tide would swallow the small house any moment. The only sound in the room was the ticking of a clock, which read 2:31am. The game had officially begun at 1:44am.<p>

The two people in the room were the two most intimidating participants. They were the reason so many people had left the school immediately, worried that they received good weapons. Despite what they believed, Lance and N were not out on a hunt for blood like vicious predators, but sitting in an abandoned little kitchen, holding two cups of lukewarm coffee.

As soon as Lance left the building, the first thing he decided was to wait for N. He had to talk to him before either of them tried to do anything to help the game progress. Although the green-haired man was surprised to have someone wait outside for him, but accompanied him nevertheless. They walked in silence, looking out for any other contestants. They figured, with a few exceptions, most would simply run off upon seeing them. Luckily, they didn't run into anyone, postponing any messy confrontations so far.

"Your father didn't tell you anything?" Lance asked, to confirm for certain.

"No. I returned to Unova for my own purposes, and when I approached the Pokemon League once more, I felt something hit me on the back of the head. After that, I woke up here. I assume something similar happened to you, too", N said, speaking in a quick, calm manner.

"Right, I was just checking. But yes, I was called to Mahogany Gym, and I blindly went. It's a little embarrassing that we fell for the exact same trick as a bunch of children did."

"What did you call me here for? I haven't formed a plan of action myself, and I'm not perfectly sure if I want to be allied with you. I would rather be left alone to decide what to do-" N began.

"I was getting to that. So, do you remember in that classroom, when Giovanni told us that we were no different from the others?" Lance asked.

"Yes, I remember."

"He's wrong."

"I know what you're trying to say, and I don't agree. I'm not going to receive any special treatment. If that's what you believe, then you must target the son of that man too, if you really believe in the idea that we'll be any-"

"That's not what I'm saying! Listen. You and Silver aren't special because of your fathers. I was talking about us. There's a reason they brought us into this game, and it's to be the players. Those kids would probably take the risk of all dying at once, and that's not what they want at all. They want us to kill", Lance explained slowly.

"Yes, that was clear from the way they spoke about us", N replied, sounding a little lost.

"Right? Remember, those men want revenge. They _hate _those kids. I don't know how they feel about you, but I don't think they hate us. I'm almost certain that they want one of us to be the winner. So, let's make a pact."

N tilted his head slightly, still looking confused. Lance held out his hand, as if for a handshake. The other man kept his hands on his lap, waiting to hear what Lance had to offer first.

"Until we're amongst the final three, we won't try and kill each other. We'll go our own ways, and if it comes down to us, then we'll try to kill each other. Do we have a deal?" Lance offered.

N hesitated for a moment. Although he had a lot in common with the redhead sitting across from him, he was still a stranger. On the other hand, there was no reason to doubt him. It was a simple agreement, and Lance didn't seem to underestimate his strength.

As Lance's hand began to tremble from being held out for so long, N finally reached over and clasped it. A look of relief briefly appeared on Lance's face before he shook, and let go. He took another sip from his mug, relieved to have that agreement out of the way.

"So, are you planning to kill?" Lance asked, figuring that he would stay until he finished his coffee.

"Probably, yes. I have important goals to achieve. If I die, those goals will never be achieved, and I can't let that happen. Besides, that is the reason why we were brought here..." N said.

"True. I won't ask you what your goals are, if you don't want to explain, but I don't want to die here either. I can understand that much. So, I'm going to give it my all."

N didn't reply to that, and instead simply sipped at his coffee. Even though they knew they had a lot to accomplish, neither man was in a rush to leave just yet. It would become a hellish bloodbath once they left, and the brief appreciation of peace was not lost on them.

* * *

><p>"It's so cold", Tierno complained. It was at that point that he regretted wearing a t-shirt.<p>

Trevor followed behind him quietly. As he was called out straight after Tierno, the two longterm friends decided to meet up. Shauna had left before them, and was nowhere in sight. Tierno was disappointed by that, but Trevor understood. Many of the people who had left beforehand looked strong and intimidating. The weaker ones, such as Shauna, had the right idea to go and find a quiet place to hide.

The girl who had come out of the classroom next looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack. Although the two boys wanted to wait for X and Y, they wanted to check and make sure that the girl was okay. Their big mistake was running after her, and losing sight of the school in an instant.

She demanded to be left alone, and it was at that point that the boys realize they probably worsened her mental state of mind. Tierno suggested that they should go back to the school and look for their two friends, but Trevor had reminded him that, by this point, the last student would be out. Twenty minutes hadn't passed, so the school wasn't a danger zone yet, but it certainly wasn't worth risking. Instead, they continued walking downwards, hoping to find an obscure place to stay for the night. Neither boy was dressed for the cold night air.

The ground seemed to grow marshier as they walked towards the beach. The tide proved to them that camping out on the beach was out of bounds. Tierno ran over to the cliff's edge, looking out. Despite the way the tide was crashing at the rocks below, the sea further out looked beautiful and serene. The moon's reflection glowed in the rippling water, and for a moment, it was hard to believe they were taking part in a fight to the death.

"Y'know, Trevor, if we could've done this at a better time, this would've been a pretty nice day out with everyone", he shared.

Trevor didn't reply. Confused, the other boy turned around, and saw that he was several feet away, clutching the end of his shirt. Tierno walked over to him.

"Trevor?" he asked, bending downwards to get a look at his friend's face. He raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw tears rolling down his cheeks.

"I-I'm really going to d-die here", Trevor whimpered.

"Huh? Why're you thinking like that? You saw all our seniors in there. They beat all of those men before! They'll do it again, and we'll get out of here. Besides, even if we don't... Well, everyone has a chance at winning-"

"_No! _That man said I was the youngest. They all _know._ I'm easy prey for anyone here! All my chances are gone!" he snapped, catching Tierno off guard. Then, the larger boy laid his hands on Trevor's shoulders.

"Hey, listen. That's not going to happen. You're smart! Smarter than most of the people here. Besides, that's probably just the cold talking. We need to find shelter, calm down, get some sleep and we'll be feeling on top of the world!" Tierno reassured him, grinning.

Trevor looked up at him in surprise for a further few seconds, before nodding. Letting out a sigh of relief, Tierno led him away from the cliff. For a moment, he stood there, looking around for any sight of housing. Then, in the far distance, he saw a little area. It was hard to tell from where he was standing whether or not it was actually a house, or just a large boulder, but it was worth finding out.

"Hey, I think I found somewhere! C'mon!" he called out, running off ahead.

"Wait up! You know I'm a lot slower than you are...!" Trevor protested, attempting to keep up.

Together, they ran towards the cottage located in D-2.

**_27 Remaining._**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_I'm so sorry for the formatting burp- I didn't spot that until now. All edited now- I'm sorry for the inconvenience!


	4. Chapter 4

Inside the cottage, Lance had finished his coffee, while N let his go cold. Once he finished, the first thing he did was check his weapon; a glass bottle. Initially disappointed, the first thing he decided was to break it off the edge of the table, making it a decent weapon for shanking. The next thing he decided to do was to scour the kitchen for any better weapons.

The search had been quick and simple; within one of the first drawer he searched was a collection of cutlery, and a long, butcher's knife amongst them. Although it was nowhere near as good as something such as a gun, it would certainly make a more usable weapon than glass bottle. He decided that the glass bottle would be second priority.

"What did you get?" Lance asked N, realizing the other man had been awfully quiet.

"Sorry, I'm keeping that private."

"Fair enough. Right now, it doesn't make a difference to me if it's good or useless", he muttered, thinking about his own less than adequate weapon.

Tossing his day pack over his shoulder, he clutched the butcher's knife with his right hand. He was about to say goodbye to N, when the door suddenly burst open. Both Lance and N froze, hoping they would be hidden in the darkness. They did expect messy confrontations soon, but not this soon.

"Is it okay to go in?" Trevor asked, sounding a little concerned about the fact that the door opened so easily.

"Yeah. The owner probably just forgot to-" Tierno began as he walked in, but froze.

When he properly entered the house, he saw the two silhouettes stand out in the darkness like a sore thumb. Even though he had only saw them briefly in the classroom, their eccentric hairstyles made them recognizable.

"Tierno? What's going on?" Trevor asked, walking up slowly behind him. He saw what had petrified Tierno, and let out a small whine.

Lance considered his options. He _could _let the kids run free, and strategize more. It was the safest option, and given the fact that they looked awfully young and weak, they would be dealt with eventually. His second option was to fulfill the purpose he had been brought here for; to kill those who were too weak willed to do that exact act. He had decided.

"I'll give you a head start. Run", he told them calmly.

Before he could even say the last word, the two boys had disappeared from the doorway. Even though Trevor was generally a painfully slow runner, he had taken off faster than anyone would have ever thought he could.

"Well, looks like it's beginning. Good luck, N. See you another time, probably", Lance said, and took off out the door. N merely watched him leave, and then went back to examine the weapon he received.

Outside, Tierno and Trevor had not stopped for any breaks. The cottage was becoming a mere speck in the distance, and although their lungs were screaming for air, they didn't dare to stop. Neither boy could believe their misfortune; they came across the _one _houseon the entire islandwhere the two most feared players were currently residing.

The feeling of horror was quickly beginning to reside once they had landed in a grassy patch. The grass was tall, and concealed Trevor completely. Tierno's head was visible through the top, but if he ducked down, they would be camouflaged. Briefly, they stopped, gulping in breaths of air.

"Are... we... safe?" Trevor panted.

Tierno took the risk of sticking his head out through the grass. In the very near distance, he could see Lance gaining speed on them. He was rapidly approaching the area that they were hiding in. Without another second of hesitation, Tierno grabbed the smaller boy's hand and dragged him through the grass. As he did, he accidentally stepped on the tiny tail of a Patrat, waking it from its nap. It let out a loud screech. _Great. Give us away to the entire island!, _he thought.

Ignoring the rodent, he continued to run, Trevor's hand slipping out of his own. He wasn't sure what they could do. They _could _try and get back to the school, and find some way to get Lance into the danger zone while they stayed out. _How would that even work?!. _Or, they could split up. _Yeah, and he'll run after one of us, making one of us guaranteed death. _Through his panicked mind, Tierno found that coming up with a plan to escape death on the spot was incredibly difficult.

He looked back over his shoulder at Trevor, the more clever of the pair. Surely he would have a plan. However, before he could even receive the boy's attention, Tierno's eyes were drawn to something completely different. His eyes widened in fear, and his mouth hung open.

While they took their grassy route, Lance had either taken a shortcut or picked up his pace, by the looks of things. He was almost directly behind Trevor, knife brandished. Tierno had no idea how Trevor didn't hear him. Then again, with how loud his own heart was beating, it must have been hard for the younger boy to hear anything too. Still, all he could hope was that he would hear his warning.

"_He's right behind you!"_

For a very brief moment, a look of horror dawned on Trevor's face, and for the first time, Tierno noticed the beads of sweat that had formed. Much to Tierno's dismay, the boy was beginning to slow down, possibly out of numbing fear. He was about to scream at him to run, but his words would never reach him.

Lance grabbed Trevor by the head, holding it in a tight lock. The small boy flailed, attempting to punch and kick, his hands curled up into weak fists. Lance paid no attention to his movements, and instead looked down at Trevor with wide eyes. He positioned the butcher's knife above the metallic collar. Pressing it to his throat, Lance swiped it across Trevor's throat in one quick swipe.

Trevor felt only a split second of pain, as he felt the process of his windpipe being sliced. After that brief moment, he no longer saw or felt anything. Blood spurted out of his neck, droplets spraying out onto the grass. Lance watched the process for a few seconds, and then dropped Trevor, leaving him like a discarded toy. With that, Trevor became the first person to officially leave the program.

Despite the fact that Tierno had previously been close to furious with Trevor for not running, he had stopped moving altogether upon seeing his closest friend have his throat cut open. He wanted to do many things at once in that moment. Scream, cry, mourn his best friend, hit Lance, _kill _Lance, or just wake up from whatever hellish nightmare this was.

Tierno didn't get the opportunity to do anything he wished to do. As soon as Lance had dropped Trevor, he moved towards Tierno with agile footsteps. Tierno, who was also agile and elegant-moving despite his weight, snapped back to reality and stepped away. He moved backwards, catching Lance off guard. He could have sworn that the boy was in a state of bewilderment.

This back-and-forth movement quickly ended. Tierno, who was stepping backwards, had no clue where he was going. He felt his foot stumble over something in the grass, causing his whole body to stop moving. To his horror, he realized it was Trevor's body. He wished he had time to mourn, but instead all he could was treat it like an obstacle, and-

"Sorry about your friend", Lance whispered from behind.

Tierno turned around. _How did I miss him move?! Was he really more agile than me? I kept my eye on him nearly all the time, there's no way he could have-_

Lance repeated the process in a quicker manner. Having found the perfect place to slice, he drew the knife quickly across Tierno's neck. This time, he stepped back to avoid being splattered with any blood. He dropped Tierno's body next to Trevor's.

For a moment, Lance stood there and looked down at the bodies. _There's nothing to feel guilty about. I'm just doing everything I can do to survive, _he tried to reassure himself. As he got over his momentary guilt, he knew that only one could survive, and unlike many of those on the island, he was not the type to selflessly die for the sake of others. He felt the most basic instinct: The will to survive.

The truth was that Lance was still at a loss as to why he was even in this program. He was just as ruthless as any of the men within that classroom. Like them, his plans had been ruined by children, but for some reason, he was out here, fighting amongst them. _I should have been in there with them, watching over this game. Not fighting out here._

Brooding over his thoughts, Lance inserted the knife into his belt, before walking away. The stench of blood from the two bodies below him was irritating his nose.

**_25 Remaining._**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note: <em>**Poor Trevor. I was tempted to let him live a little longer, but someone had to die soon.

I was going to put in some more characters, and what they were up to, but I felt that I'd leave the first killings as a chapter on their own. We'll get back to other characters in the next chapter! Oh, as always, please let me what you thought!


	5. Chapter 5

"This is no good..." Red muttered to himself as he approached the housing estate marked on the map. It was in the south-eastern part of the island, and there seemed to be an endless row of houses.

After watching Ruby and Sapphire run off together, Red had proceeded to explore the eastern side of the island, starting from the school downwards. While he did want to search in every possible area, there was still the chance of coming across people who would be willing to kill.

_Stop thinking like that! If you end up thinking that way, you'll suspect everyone, including Green and Blue, _he tried to scold himself. As hard as he tried, he was still wary of that N guy, and he definitely had reason to believe Lance would kill him if he had the chance, considering Lance and the others in the Elite Four tried that in the past. Other than that, he saw no reason not to trust the others. The teenagers from Johto and Hoenn would certainly trust him, and although he didn't know the others, he saw no reason to suspect them. _But, there's always the possibility they're just like Lance._

That kind of thinking ran through his head during his search. Red tried to stop, as he always believed that he was the type of person to see the best in everything and everyone. But, this was the type of scenario that could break anyone. Due to this reasoning, Red's search hadn't been thorough, and if anybody had been hiding (including Green and Blue), he had completely missed them.

Biting his lip, Red felt a wave of guilt wash over him. As much as he tried to make excuses, there was one clear fact: He was falling into the mindset that Giovanni wanted him to be in. Every one of those men _wanted _everyone on this island to suspect each other, as it would lead to more killing. One thing remained clear for Red, however: He would not kill, no matter how paranoid he became.

With that thought clear in his mind, Red decided that from this point onwards, he would no longer try to avoid anyone, aside from Lance, as long as he saw them. He would reach out to them. If he had been friendly with them before the program, that would be perfect. If not, it would be the best opportunity to gain his juniors' trust.

Red contemplated calling into each various house in the estate he was looking out over. He had no doubts that there had to be at least one other person who chose to hide in a house. He also thought of perhaps hiding in a house himself, and if anyone were to come in, he would try and convince them to ally with him.

Just for tonight, though.

Even though it had only been an hour or two at the most, the night had drained Red's energy, and even though he was used to sleeping in the wild, he didn't want to be in such an unfamiliar, dangerous location for the first night. Just for that night, he decided that he would rest inside, and as soon as he heard the first morning announcement, he would begin to search for Green and Blue once more.

After discovering the first two houses were locked, Red tried the third house, and discovered it was unlocked. A house key hung on a small hook inside the door, which the occupant must have forgotten to use. Slowly, he closed the door behind him, looking around the dark hallway.

"Hello? If anyone's in here, my name is Red, and I'm not going to fight! I promise!" he called out.

Several minutes passed, and there was no response. It was natural to assume that the house was empty, or that particular person was hiding. In case of the latter, Red decided to pull out his weapon, just to be on the safe side. Crouching down, he reached into his daypack, and found his weapon immediately. His eyes widened, and he pulled it out, noticing that it was a large circular item. He stared in confusion for several seconds upon seeing what he had been assigned.

He was holding a dartboard. There were also darts clinging onto the board, which could serve as a unique type of weapon, but overall, it was rubbish in self defense. In actual fact, it wasn't even a weapon. _What kind of joke is this?! They said we would get weapons!, _Red thought, and shoved his assigned "weapon" back into his daypack.

Feeling annoyed at that turn of events, all he decided that he could do was hope that if there happened to be someone else in the house, that it wasn't someone willing to fight. Wincing at ending up in that mindset again, Red tried to focus on the positives, but realized that once you started thinking in that manner, it was a hard habit to break.

Instead, he thought about meeting up with those he was already friends with. Once he met them, Red decided that together, they would all be able to come up with a plan. For the rest of the night, though, the best course of action was to regain his energy.

Once he arrived in the sitting room, Red laid down on the couch, using his day pack as a pillow. He was able to push out any unwanted thoughts, and tried to focus on any positives he could. Even in that content state, however, he couldn't find a way to sleep.

* * *

><p>Looking down from the northern cliff's edge, the water looked foamy after colliding against the rocks. The grass was much shorter here than the area in front of the school, leaving nowhere to hide.<p>

Silver didn't have any intention to hide, however. It was a dark area, and not a very popular one, by the looks of things. If he had to guess, he presumed that people had ran towards the areas with proper housing. For now, he didn't mind being alone.

When he came out, a small part of him had hoped that Blue had waited for him. The area was almost deserted as soon as he left, however. He wasn't mad at her for running away; the risks were too high to stay and wait. It didn't stop Silver from desperately wishing that they would eventually come in contact within the program before...

_No. There's no way I'm dying before I get to see her again. And Blue can't die. She's survived too much to let it all end here, _he thought, shaking his head. Despite Silver's belief that Blue and death would never have any connection to each other, a small part of him feared that he would live long enough to hear about her death. After everything she had helped him through, Silver already knew that he would never forgive himself if he let her die.

Sitting on the edge of the northern cliff, in sector A-8, the thought of being in a death game seemed far less frightening. The atmosphere was incredibly peaceful, and it helped to clear Silver's mind after the overwhelming experience within the classroom. Despite sitting in a strangely peaceful area, the thought of Blue dying made his blood boil, causing feelings of fear and sadness to make him tense up.

Leaning back ever so slightly, Silver raised his head, looking up at the sky. It was still completely dark, unsurprisingly, considering it was 3:04am. His feet were dangling off the edge of the cliff. From where he was sitting, the drop felt like it was 100 feet, and although that was an exaggeration, he knew that one plunge would end it all.

At that moment, he didn't know whether or not it would come to him committing suicide. In certain circumstances, Silver knew that he would, but at this early stage in the game, where he had the free choice to die or live on, it was difficult to decide.

For the time being, he decided, he would merely take in the peacefulness of the quiet night.

* * *

><p>Gold had experienced a lot he could chalk up as "bad".<p>

Being asked to try and stop Team Rocket's executives from disastrously creating a new universe? Bad. Almost getting lost in the flow of time for good? Very bad.

This, however, took the cake for bad experiences.

At least with his previous troubling experiences, he always reckoned there was someone on his side just waiting to help out. They knew a way out. That little thought always gave Gold reassurance, no matter how bad things got. Even if they couldn't, he had confidence in himself to find a way out, even if it meant _just _surviving.

In this case, nobody seemed to know a way out, especially him.

It was that goddamn collar around his neck that ruined any bit of confidence he had about escaping. There was no guarantee that it would explode if he tried to escape, but the only way he would figure that out would be the hard way.

So, all that was left to do was to stay on this island. Gold knew he could only survive if he fought, or hid and hoped that all of the other twenty-six would kill each other off. There was still an issue with that; he knew he wasn't self-centered enough to kill others just so he would be the last one standing. Also, he wasn't completely keen about the idea of standing by and letting Kris and Silver die.

_Yeah, this entire situation is bad._

Frustrated at his lack of ideas, Gold kicked up dry dirt. The top of his sneaker became coated in dust, but he had bigger issues. He clenched his left hand into a fist, his fingernails digging into his palms. His right hand curled around his assigned weapon- a stun gun. Although he didn't have much experience with weapons, he guessed that it was decent enough, and simply hoped that he wouldn't bump into any killers with better weapons. A stun gun didn't sound like the greatest weapon against an actual gun.

Gold walked north as he gripped his weapon, trying to figure out what to do if it did come to facing off against an enemy with a better weapon. Those thoughts were quickly pushed aside once he approached the top of a cliff. According to his map, he was approaching A-8. At the very edge of the cliff, he spotted someone very familiar, and couldn't believe his luck.

He was about to call out to Silver, but a sudden horrific thought dawned over him. There had to be a reason as to why his friend chose to come to a steep cliff, of all places. Gold had worried in the past that Silver might do something this bold to get out of a traumatic scenario, but it never dawned on him that he would do it in this game.

"_Silver!" _Gold shouted, straining his vocal chords. He rushed towards the edge of the cliff. Silver turned around just in time to see his hotblooded friend run over, and before he could say anything, he found himself being hoisted up by the back of his jacket, and dragged away from the cliff's edge.

"Hey- _Hey! _What the hell are you doing to me?! Let go!" Silver demanded, trying to pry the other boy's hand off the back of his jacket.

Gold let go, but turned Silver around to make sure they were face to face. Briefly, he put both his hands on his shoulders, before raising one and slapping Silver hard across the cheek. The redhead blinked a few times, stunned by Gold's sudden action. Bearing his teeth, Silver didn't waste another second in retaliating. He swiftly raised his fist, and swung it into Gold's cheek.

"What was that for?!" Gold snapped, clutching his cheek.

"I should ask you the same thing", Silver replied, raising a hand to his own.

"I had a reason. There's no way I'm going to let you kill yourself! Why would you think of doing that?!"

"Wait. You thought I was going to kill myself?"

"Well... Yeah. Why else would you be alone at the edge of a cliff?" Gold replied, his tone growing more hesitant. _Don't tell me this was all one big misunderstanding. _

"I needed some time to think. You could've asked before slapping me across the face!" Silver replied, his tone growing harsh again.

"I thought you'd jump if I called out or something! Jeez, don't hold it against me."

"You're a huge idiot, you know that? I can't think of anyone else who would choose to slap someone instead of calling out to them."

After letting out a slightly annoyed sigh, Silver took a step back from him. The two stared at each other for a few seconds, before Gold let out a small laugh. The other boy furrowed his brows in confusion, thinking he might have misheard, but was proven to be mistaken once Gold didn't try to hold back his laughter.

"What's so funny?" Silver muttered, confused.

"Nothing, it's just this is the sort of thing we'd do under any kind of circumstances, huh?" Gold replied, his tone much lighter.

"I don't really understand."

"C'mon, you know what I mean. It doesn't matter if we're just relaxing at home, or in some kind of killing competition, we'll always just end up bickering like that."

"Right... Well, I don't know if that's necessarily a good or bad thing."

"If you ask me, it's pretty good", Gold said, before frowning, "I think a lot of people are going to lose themselves in something like this. If people actually follow these bullshit rules, it won't be long until people start losing their friends, and... Yeah, I don't want to think about what happens. That's why we have to try not to lose our minds."

Gold continued to stare at Silver, his expression completely serious, mixed in with some annoyance. Silver glanced towards the ocean again, understanding what Gold was saying. Once again, his mind turned to Blue. There was no doubt in his mind that if she died, he would lose himself, just as Gold described.

"I don't really think it'll just be the whole thing of losing their friends that could drive them insane, though. Being alone in this kind of situation is more than enough for that. So, what do you say? Allies?" Gold quickly changed the subject, holding out his hand. He grinned once more.

"Just the two of us?" Silver asked hesitantly.

"Huh? No way! We have to meet up with Kris. I know you want to meet up with Blue, and I want to try and find some of our seniors. We just need to stay together! Now, come on, are we done talking about obvious stuff?"

Feeling relieved at the fact that Gold wanted to meet up with the others, Silver saw no reason not to say no. The pair had been friends for years at that stage, and although he would never admit it, he had become fond of the other teenager.

"Alright", Silver agreed, and held out his hand.

The two briefly shook hands. After that, Silver suggested staying in the northern sector for the night, which Gold had no objections to.

* * *

><p>"That idiot! I asked him to wait! That <em>idiot!" <em>

Y had been muttering to herself angrily ever since she left the school. After taking an almost life threatening risk to ask X to wait outside, she hoped he would at least do that. However, upon exiting the school, no one was in sight. He had taken off as soon as he left.

While it did hurt her personally, what worried Y more was what he would do. X's mental state had been going downhill for years, and just as she thought they were beginning to help him, _this _comes along. Of course, the Battle Royale program was a horrid concept that would destroy even the most stable people, but she was deeply concerned for her friend who had turned frail over the years.

So, the young girl decided that she would look around for him. All she could hope was that his name wouldn't end up in the first announcement, or any announcement, for that matter. It was incredibly frustrating to be separated from all of her friends, but given the fact that they were such a large group, she began to hope that she would find at least one of them sooner or later. Y decided she wouldn't be offended if they prioritized X too, given how easy it was to worry about him.

As she walked west, Y made hardly any sound, excluding her occasional frustrated muttering. She had always been quiet as she walked, which could come in handy in this sort of competition. Her movements were always elegant, a habit which she had picked up from learning to be a Sky Trainer.

She came to a stop outside a building. In the darkness, she was just about able to make out that the sign above it read "GENERAL STORE". _Well, there _could _be some useful things in here, _she thought, but stopped before walking up to the entrance.

One of the first items that entered her mind was a weapon. She had been worried that she had ended up with a bad weapon, and figured a convenience store would sell something better. However, Y figured she might have been judging too soon, considering she hadn't even opened her bag yet.

Kneeling down on the ground, she unzipped the green bag. Unlike many of the others, she didn't need to do any rummaging to find her weapon. Sitting there, on top of all her other assigned items, was some kind of chained link. Reaching in, she pulled it out of the bag, and discovered a wooden stick on one end. She quickly brought her hand down to the wooden stick to hold instead, and pulled the weapon out of the bag.

On the other end of the stick was a type of spiked, metal ball. It was quite large, and Y knew immediately that, if she could use it correctly, that she would be able to deal quite a lot of damage to whoever she fought against. Grinning, she swung it around, watching the ball swish back and forth.

"Hmm... Not too bad at all", she said to herself, already cheering up.

She still wanted to visit the convenience store, however. There might be other items that could come in handy over the next few days, and didn't want to waste the opportunity. Zipping up her bag again, Y let it hang off her shoulder, and clutched the spiked mace in her other hand.

When she approached the doors, they automatically slid open. Y stepped inside quietly, noticing the area was completely dark. The shelves were completely full, meaning the place hadn't been ransacked yet. Her eyes were then drawn to the register, and she froze.

There was a silhouetted figure sitting there, who had also froze upon hearing someone come in. The person was holding some kind of edible object in their hand, and there was no weapon in sight. Even though they didn't appear to be a threat, Y raised her mace.

"Who's there?!" she called out briskly, "I'm armed!"

The person reached for something by their side, and for a moment, Y worried that it was a weapon. However, after a click resonated, a torch was shone upon Y's face. With the area slightly illuminated, the silhouette became slightly clearer. Judging by the person's long hair and skirt, she figured the other person in the room was a girl.

"Wow, that's a nice weapon! Do you know how to use that thing?" the other person replied, sounding genuinely impressed.

"Umm..." Y mumbled, suddenly realizing she had never used something like this before.

The other person moved the flashlight towards themselves. Once the light hit her, the brown-haired girl closed one eye, her eyes already irritated by the sudden light. Upon seeing who was facing her, Y lowered her weapon slowly. She recognized the girl from earlier on as she left the classroom.

"Your name's Blue, isn't it?" she asked, just to be sure.

The other girl nodded, and laid the torch beside her. Feeling a little more relaxed after getting that out of the way, Blue laid her back against the cash register, and let one foot hang over the checkout desk. Y remained by the door.

"Hey, don't be shy. Come in! Since you showed up, let's talk", Blue offered.

Y began to step forward, feeling slightly cautious. After she took a few steps, the older girl indicated a 'Stop' motion with her hand.

"Put the weapon down first. That thing makes me a little uncomfortable."

Obliging, Y crouched down slightly and laid the spiked mace by the door. She then proceeded to walk towards Blue, feeling both relieved upon finding someone else, and hesitant about trusting her, simultaneously.

**_25 Remaining._**


	6. Chapter 6

Unlike many of the others on the island, Blue never had any intentions to wait for the others. She _did _want to protect Silver, and stay allied with Red, Green and Yellow, but the risks were just too high. Waiting outside the school, especially when you didn't know what the others were going to do, was practically suicide.

After quickly checking the map, she decided the most convenient place would be the store. Besides, it would be worth stocking up on items. She had arrived at the store at approximately the same time Lance had left the school. For a while, she merely looked around at the items, before deciding to get something to eat.

Shortly afterwards, a scared-looking young girl had entered. Blue didn't get any malicious vibes off her, though, and decided to reach out to her. Whether or not this other girl would trust her was the main issue.

"What's your weapon?" Y asked as soon as she laid down her weapon.

"It's embarrassing, in all honesty", Blue laughed nervously, and reached into her bag.

Getting up off the table, she grabbed the flashlight with one hand, and her weapon with the other. Shining it on the weapon, Y narrowed her eyes upon seeing that it looked to be some kind of thick branch. She held a hand to her mouth, suppressing a giggle.

"Told you! They did say we were getting weapons, right?" Blue said, waving the stick around for a few seconds.

"Maybe they included some joke weapons", Y mused.

"Well, that's just great. They want us to kill each other, so they give us joke weapons."

"It does look thick. It might be useful, after all."

"Hmm..." Blue hummed, and put the flashlight down.

She gripped the stick with both hands, and faced a shelf with boxes. Positioning herself into a pose to steady her balance, Blue brought down the stick onto one of the boxes in the middle. A large dent formed in the middle of the box, causing it to become almost V-shaped.

"Hey, that's not bad!" Y said.

"It _could _do some damage... But there's no way I'd survive a fight with just this."

Y stared at Blue in confusion for a few moments, before suddenly realizing what she was asking. She stepped backwards, reached down, and gripped her weapon tightly, shaking her head.

"I can't give you this. If that's what you want, I'll leave now", she stated.

"What? I'm not going to steal your weapon! You need that for self-defense. I'm not _that _selfish, you know", Blue reassured her. The girl's light tone made Y feel a little frustrated.

"What are you suggesting, then?"

"Look, I was thinking of a plan. We could be a good team, you know. None of us have to lose our weapons, or any hopes of self defense, and we could help each other. If you trust me, that is", Blue offered.

Y stood there in shock. _I've just met this girl, and she's already offering to become allies? Something's definitely off here. Can I really trust her?, _she thought. Subconsciously, she began to grip her weapon tighter, until her knuckles turned white. When Blue saw how hostile the girl had suddenly become, she realized an explanation would be necessary.

"Hear me out. It's terrifying being alone in this type of situation, isn't it? I know I'm not the ideal person you want to team up with, and to be honest, there _are _people I'm closer to than you. But, beggars can't be choosers, and it doesn't seem like you want to kill. Do you?" Blue said slowly, raising her eyebrows a little.

"Of course not!" Y exclaimed, her grip loosening on her weapon.

"Right? Neither do I. There are certain circumstances that I would kill in, but I'm not going to try and attack a frightened kid. Besides, if we stick together, we'd have a better chance of rounding up more allies! I have a few people in mind that I want to meet up with. I know you do as well."

"How do you know that...?"

"You looked a little hopeful when I shined the torch on you. You hoped that I was one of your friends, right? I won't lie, I was hoping it was one of my friends that came in through that door too", Blue admitted, sounding a little ashamed.

"They all left before I did. My name's Y, so I was left out second-to-last. I asked the boy who left before me to wait, but he didn't... I don't like the idea that they're all out in such a dangerous place, and I have no idea what's happening to them", Y said, beginning to tremble.

"Hmm, so one of the people you want to meet up with is X, then. It's annoying, not knowing what's happening to everyone. I'm sure your friends are worried about you too. But I'm sure they'd feel better knowing that you chose to trust somebody."

"Oh... Okay, fine. I'll trust you for now. I don't really know how I'd feel about being out there alone", Y said softly.

Blue smiled, feeling relieved that she was no longer alone. The truth was that she had been terrified ever since she left the classroom. In the past, whenever she had gone through traumatizing events, that burden was always made a little easier by having people by her side. Even though she was taking a blind risk by trusting a complete stranger, she thought right from the start that Y gave off a vibe that she was just as scared. Despite her reluctant tone, Blue believed that the girl was just as relieved to have found someone.

"Great! So, let's go through who you want to meet up with. I already circled the names of the people I want to find", Blue said, flicking the torch on once more.

She pulled out her map. Just below the diagram of the island that was divided up into sections was a list. Twenty-seven names were listed, the names of every contestant. Below that was information on when each announcement of danger zones and the deceased would begin, all of which were at 6AM, 12PM, 6PM, and 12AM.

Y walked over to Blue's side, looking at the map. A few names had been circled: Green, Red, Silver, Yellow. _Oh. Yellow came out after me. If Blue wanted to meet up with her, maybe I should've waited for an extra few minutes, _she thought, feeling a pang of regret. _Then again, I didn't even know I'd be with Blue by then._

"I want to meet up with all of the contestants from Kalos. We're all in the same group of friends, you know", Y requested.

When Blue looked at her with a lost expression, Y realized that the other girl had no idea who was from Kalos. She pointed at the names of her friends, one by one: Shauna, Tierno, Trevor and X. Blue nodded, and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a pencil, and circled the four names.

"We'll find them all, promise!" Blue said, grinning.

_I hope so, anyway. God knows what could happen over the next few days, _she thought.

* * *

><p>In E-8, slightly in the east, a cluster of trees stood there. The trees were covered in various berries that would be ideal for Pokemon battles, ripe for the picking. The trees swayed gently in the light wind. The area remained completely silent for about an hour after the game officially begun. Then, after that hour passed, two young teenagers approached the area, breathing deeply after running from the school.<p>

Sapphire tried to go straight into the area, but suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw that Ruby was trying to get her to stop. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"We need to check and make sure it's safe first", he told her, and unzipped his bag. Sapphire did likewise.

Ruby pulled a small, sharp item wrapped in a sheath out of the bag. Removing the sheath, he realized that he was holding some type of army knife. It was a decent size, light to hold, and he figured that if the time did come to fight, he might be at an advantage. Next to him, he heard a groan.

"What am I s'posed to do with this thing?" Sapphire grumbled, and Ruby saw that she was holding a rusted harmonica.

"This is a joke", Ruby muttered. After a moment of deliberation, he put the sheath back over the knife, and thrust it into Sapphire's hands.

"What're you doing?! You need to defend yourself too, you idiot!" she said.

"I'll figure something out. Besides, a cavewoman like you has experience with weapons like those, right?" he teased.

"If you call me a-"

"Let's talk in a minute. Do you want me to check the area for others, or do you want to do it?" he asked.

Sapphire stayed silent for a moment, biting her lip. She twisted the knife around in her hands, harmonica forgotten about. As she seemed to be internally debating about what to do, Ruby stretched his hand out to take back the knife. Sapphire quickly brought the knife back towards herself.

"I'll do it! You do sorta have a point- I know my way around the wild", she volunteered, and walked deeper into the cluster of trees.

Ruby remained at the entrance for a few seconds, feeling jittery. Despite the fact Sapphire was strong, he was still worried about someone performing a surprise attack on her. Unable to hold resist his impatience any longer, he ran in after her, keeping a close lookout as he did.

He began to grow worried when he couldn't locate Sapphire, but realized that she would have definitely made some kind of sound if she was being attacked. His worries were quickly pushed aside when he saw the younger girl walk over to him.

"I thought you were gonna wait at the entrance for me", she said.

"I assumed there wouldn't be anyone else here. Was I right?" he replied, sounding a little smug.

"Yeah, I guess you were", Sapphire said quietly.

Without any warning, she perched herself down at the base of one of the trees, and stretched out. Ruby sat down beside her, and brushed away at any dirt that got on his pants. Sapphire shot him a look of disdain, but couldn't hold it.

"Ruby, I don't know what to do", she mumbled, toying with the knife in her hands. He looked over at her.

"I don't think anybody really does, Sapph", he replied, sounding exasperated.

"No, I bet some people do. Like those two creeps. But not just them. I was thinking, we really dunno anything about anyone except for Emerald!"

"Hey, that's not true! We got to know Gold and Crystal while our seniors were in Hoenn. I really do doubt any of our seniors will try to kill. We can trust them, at least."

"Alright, I won't doubt them... But we can't underestimate our juniors either. Doesn't matter how little they are, they could be vicious. I don't really know if I can fully trust anyone apart from you right now. Does that make me a bad person?" Sapphire questioned softly.

Ruby hesitated before replying, trying to figure out the best way to reply. Although he wouldn't admit it out loud, he felt almost as scared as she did, even if she was trying to hide how frightened she was. After a few seconds had passed, he replied.

"No, I don't think so. I know why you wouldn't trust them. It is hard to tell what their plans of action are in this game, after all. But here's what I think; if the opportunity to team up with the others rises, we should take it. It's hard to do, but I think we can at least trust the majority of people on this island", Ruby argued.

"Huh? I guess there are some people I could team up with, like Emerald and Gold, but what makes you so sure that the others are so trustworthy?"

"Well, Giovanni said we were being punished. I might be mistaken, but I think that means that the others went through their own courses of events to save their regions. No one bad would try to do that. I think we can trust the others, if my intuition's right", he explained, beginning to smile. He looked over at Sapphire, who smiled back at him.

"I get it. Okay, I'll go along with what you're saying, but if you're wrong, you're paying big time", she warned. Ruby laughed quietly at that.

Another quiet few seconds passed. The wind was picking up slightly, and Ruby instinctively clutched onto his hat. Figuring the wind wasn't strong enough to blow it away, he let go once more. Deliberating what to do next, he laid a hand on Sapphire's shoulder. She looked up at him.

"Ruby?" she said.

"I have to talk to you about something", he told her.

"I'm listening", she replied, and felt her heart flutter. _Please tell me he finally remembers, _she thought. Ruby took a deep breath, trying to sort out his thoughts, and began to speak.

"When I was younger, I became friends briefly with this girl my age. Even though we were complete opposites, I enjoyed being around her. One day, I messed that all up. In attempt to protect her from a wild Salamence, I scared her away. From that point on, I promised myself I would try to become a gentler person. That's why I became involved in contests, and gave up battling."

"This is what I've been trying to make you remember! You remember it all?" Sapphire cut in.

"I... don't know what you're talking about. I'm nearly done. I'll admit it; eve though it was brief, I ended up getting a crush on her... But anyway, then I met you. Since we first met, I've been trying to figure out whether or not you were that girl, and I... Well, in the classroom, when I saw your reaction to what they said they brought us here for, I knew it. You're that girl from back then, aren't you?" he asked.

"I am."

"It's nice to hear it, but to be honest, I've always liked you. Even before I started to connect the girl from back then with you. I don't know if I can make it any clearer than that", Ruby confessed. Even though it was dark, Sapphire could see that his face was turning a light shade of red.

"I told you that I've been trying to get you to remember all that stuff. But I don't really care- It's nice to hear. I don't think I need to say it, but I like you too", she said, and laughed nervously. It didn't feel normal to admit her feelings so openly, but in a situation like this, she understood completely why she had to.

"Ahh, well, that aside, onto my main point. I tried to protect you back then, but I ended up scaring you. That won't happen again. I'll protect you, and I won't screw up this time", he stated firmly, placing both his hands on her shoulders. Her eyes widened for a moment, but then she smiled warmly.

"Thanks, Ruby. I've learned how to defend myself, so I won't be as helpless as back then. We'll make a good team", Sapphire told him.

Ruby smiled back at her, relieved to hear she had no objections to his main plan. He didn't even realize his hands were still on her shoulders until Sapphire let out a small hum. She broke eye contact, and looked over to the side.

"Hey, um, since we got all that stuff outta the way, and we have all that established, can we... Err..." she trailed off, feeling her own face heat up.

"What?" he asked.

_Clueless boy, _she thought, rolling her eyes internally. Trying to make her request a little clearer, Sapphire put her own hands on his shoulders, and leant in closer. Slowly, she leant in, and hesitated for a moment. She caught a last glimpse of Ruby preparing himself, before closing her eyes. She closed the gap between them, and gently pressed her lips against his. While hers were chapped, she found his lips to be much softer. They remained like that for a few seconds, before Sapphire pulled away.

"Sorry. I didn't know when I'd ever get a chance to do that again", she apologized, sounding a little awkward.

Ruby shook his head, smiling. He didn't know how to tell her that it wasn't bad at all, and that he enjoyed it. Sapphire picked that up through his gesture, and laid down beneath the tree, feeling relieved, on top of elated. Ruby laid down beside her, not adding any further comments. He figured he had spoken enough for the both of them.

* * *

><p>Even though Shauna had only been settled down for an hour, she decided it was time to get up and start moving again, at 4:48AM. She didn't trust the idea of remaining in one place for too long, and was anxious to get moving once more.<p>

She pushed the strap of her day pack onto her shoulder, and clutched her assigned weapon in her other hand. The weapon she had gotten was one of the better weapons compared to others; a Walther PPK 7.65mm Pistol. The name didn't matter to Shauna; all she wanted to know was that she owned a gun. Although it wasn't one of the better designs, it would defend her better in a battle against someone with an item such as a knife.

While Shauna did briefly contemplate going towards the estate towards the south-east of the island, she decided against it, and instead travelled north. She figured that X had definitely chosen to hide in a house, but there was no guarantee. It would also feel like Russian Roulette, not knowing who was inside every house. The last thing she wanted was to run into anyone actually playing.

All Shauna wanted was to meet up with her friends. It was baffling; all five of them could have met up due to their names, and when they would leave the classroom, but for some reason, her first instinct was to run as soon as she left the classroom. Feeling alone and isolated, she completely regretted her actions.

She hadn't been able to form any plans at that point. All she would do was go with the flow, and try to avoid death as well as she could. It wasn't the best plan, but it was the best she could do without anyone by her side.

As Shauna tried to think of anything she could do that would put her mind at ease, she entered D-2. Due to how dark it had become, it was difficult to make out anything within the area. She paid no attention to her surroundings as she walked on, intent on finding a new place to rest.

She started to take note of her surroundings once a sickening stench hit her nose, however.

Holding a hand up to her nose, Shauna looked around, wondering where it was coming from. _Please don't tell me that's the smell of blood... Please don't say anyone's dying yet. Nobody here wants to fight._

As her eyesight became adjusted to the dark, she spotted two lumps on the ground, further up ahead. Immediately arriving at the worst possible conclusion, she ran forward towards the two objects. As she came closer, she identified that one of them was heavy in terms of weight, and the other incredibly small.

"Please don't say it's them..." Shauna whimpered to herself. There was no denying it; the smell was definitely blood.

Once she arrived to where the two objects were, she knew right away that she was looking at two bodies. She stared for a long time. Laying on the ground were her two childhood friends; Tierno and Trevor. Even in the darkness, she was able to make out the gnashes that ran across both their necks. Someone had cut their throats open, making them two of the earliest victims of the program.

"O-Oh..."

Shauna's hand went from her nose to her mouth, in disbelief about what she was looking at. Tierno, who had always been upbeat, positive and wanted to simply dance through life. Trevor, the down to earth brainiac, who was always able to lead them in the most logical direction. Both of them were already dead.

Sinking to her knees, Shauna attempted to think of happier memories with them, but the only image protruding in her mind was the scene right in front of her. Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine themselves as carefree children once more. It didn't work. The scene was too raw, and the stench of their blood was still apparent.

With her body shaking all over, Shauna burst into tears. This was soon accompanied by sobs she tried to muffle. The fact that two of her closest friends in the world were no longer there hurt too much. It had only been the first night, and there was no telling what happened to her other two childhood friends. For all Shauna knew, she might have been the only one left from Kalos at that point. Those thoughts caused more tears to fall, and she made no attempt to conceal them. It was too much to deal with.

**_25 Remaining._**


	7. Chapter 7

Shauna had no idea how much time had passed. Time seemed to have stopped since she came across her two dead friends. The whole world seemed to be centered on those two boys, and as far as she knew, nothing else was going on around her. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't concentrate on anything else. The two bodies in front of her were the only things that had her full attention.

Due to this, she didn't hear the other person within the area approach.

Ever since Bianca left the classroom, she had been wandering around the island in the hopes of finding others. After moving north, she spotted two of her seniors, Gold and Silver, fast asleep out in the open. She was tempted to wake them up, but was afraid of provoking them into attacking. With that, she proceeded to move southwards, where she arrived in D-2.

The same smell that hit Shauna a little while ago then hit Bianca. She was able to tell immediately it was the smell of blood, terrifying her. She had hoped, more than anything, that people wouldn't partake in this game, but she had been proven wrong. Trembling like a leaf, she approached the scene slowly. It felt like she was walking further and further out of reality, and into a horror movie.

Before she moved forward, all she had seen were the two bodies strewn across the ground. As Bianca came closer, however, she saw a girl kneeling beside the two bodies. In her hands was some kind of weapon. Due to the darkness, she was unable to tell what the other girl was holding. In her state of absolute fear, she arrived at the only logical conclusion she could.

"Y-You killer!" she accused, pointing towards Shauna.

Hearing a wild statement thrown at her, the younger girl looked up. She was able to see that Bianca was pointing at her with a terrified look in her eyes. As well as that, tears were welling up. Her face was completely pale, and it took Shauna a moment to comprehend that Bianca was talking to her. _She doesn't really think I killed my own two friends, does she?_

With her free hand, Shauna rubbed her eyes roughly and stood up, her other hand still gripped on the pistol. Once she stood up, Bianca took a staggering step back, shaking her head. Judging by the way her mouth was shaking, it seemed as if she had something to say, but couldn't find the right words to express it in. Shauna remained in disbelief that the other girl would blindly believe she killed Trevor and Tierno. It had completely slipped her mind that Bianca had no idea who Shauna was, or who the two boys on the floor were, and as far as she was concerned, Shauna was simply another player.

"No way! You don't understand. They're my-" Shauna began, as she began to walk towards the other girl.

"Leave me alone! I don't want to kill! I don't want to die either!" Bianca begged, staggering backwards.

Shauna bit her lip. She _had _to prove to this girl that she wasn't a killer. The very idea of Bianca going around the island, firmly believing, and telling others, that Shauna had killed two of her best friends was too much to handle. There was too much going on tha night to handle, in actual fact. This would just be the icing on top of the cake.

After a moment of hesitation, Bianca let out a little whimper, and turned on her heels. She took off, running at a sluggish pace. Shauna grew wide-eyed. It wasn't a joke; this stranger truly believed that Shauna was malicious enough to kill. After the heavy intake of seeing her two best friends dead, she couldn't let Bianca stay under that believe. She had to convince her that she wasn't playing. Most of all, Shauna didn't want to be seen as a killer.

"Wait, please! You don't understand!" she called out, running after Bianca.

"_I do! _Don't start lying to me now- I saw it! I saw you!" the older girl shouted back shakily.

She started to pick up the pace, slowly becoming nothing more than a black silhouette in the night. If Bianca told anyone she came in contact with that Shauna was a killer, it worried the other girl to no end that eventually X and Y would find out, and even they would believe Shauna was coldhearted enough to kill.

"_I told you to wait!" _she screamed.

It was at that point Shauna lost her temper. It was not a regular occurrence, but when it did happen, it was impossible to think straight. In the back of her mind, anger had been building up ever since she had found Trevor and Tierno's bodies. The fact that Bianca refused to listen had sent her into a state where she believed actions needed to come first, and thinking could come later.

Without thinking, Shauna yanked on the back of Bianca's metallic collar as hard as she could. For a brief moment, she saw the back of the other girl's neck. A red imprint had formed its mark where the collar was set. It was only when she let go that she realized what she had done. Giovanni's words resonated in her head.

_If you try and pry it off, it will detonate._

Bianca had stopped. Her hand touched her neck, having felt a strange sensation. A cold sweat was beginning to break out on Shauna, realizing the other girl hadn't registered what just happened yet. Slowly, Bianca turned to face the younger girl.

Then, the collar began to beep.

It was a slow, gradual beeping, as if an old computer was slowly starting up. A red dot had formed in the middle of the collar, moving around at each passing second. It didn't take Shauna long to realize that it was activating the bomb inside the collar.

"What's happening...?" Bianca asked softly, still clutching her collar.

"I'm so sorry. It was an accident, I mean it. I don't know what's going to happen, but I didn't mean it..." Shauna whimpered, her hands flying to her mouth. One part of that was a lie; she knew exactly what was going to happen. _That collar's going to detonate, and Bianca will die._

"Is it my collar? Is my collar making that noise?"

"I-I think so, but-"

"What's going to happen? They said it'd explode, right? It's not really going to explode when it's around my neck, right?" Bianca asked, her tone becoming more and more high pitched.

"I think it's going to explode. But I'm so sorry! You have to know how sorry I am! I really didn't mean to!" Shauna apologized over and over, tears threatening to fall once more. Bianca seemed to only hear the first sentence. It seemed as if she was on the verge of hyperventilating, and she walked quickly over to Shauna. The other girl stepped back, not wanting to witness this up close.

"You pulled at it! Please, stop it! I really don't want to die...!" Bianca begged, clutching the sides of her collar.

"I can't, I don't know how..." Shauna groaned, squeezing her eyes shut.

"_Please! I want to live!" _

Although Shauna couldn't see, there was a sudden loud, long beep. Then, there was the sound of something popping. Something wet began to spray Shauna's bare arms, and she opened one eye.

The collar was in two pieces, the middle part missing. The inside of Bianca's neck was completely red. Due to burst veins, blood had began to spray out of her neck. Her face showed no signs of life. With Bianca's hands still clutched to the two pieces of the collar, she fell face forward into the grass. The grass beneath Bianca's head quickly became a shade of crimson red.

"I... I didn't mean it..." Shauna whimpered, staring down at the body with wide eyes.

It didn't matter that she didn't mean it. The only fact that resonated in her head was that another person on this island was dead, and it was all Shauna's fault. Whether she intended to or not, she had killed. That made her just as awful as the people who killed Tierno and Trevor, in her mind.

Looking over her shoulder, Shauna was able to see that the two other bodies were still in close proximity. It had only been minutes ago that she had been mourning over them, and now another person had died right before her eyes. _This is a nightmare. At this rate, I'm going to watch everyone die. _

Her eyes fell back on Bianca's body. Kneeling down, she turned the girl over. Wincing, the smell of blood was much stronger with her than it was with Trevor and Tierno. Shauna held Bianca's head in her hands, her fingers gently brushing against the girl's blonde hair.

_If it wasn't for me, she would still be alive, _she thought. Overwhelmed by emotion, she let out a series of small whimpers, which gradually grew louder. _I'm going to lose my mind right here._

Due to her hyperventilating, she didn't hear footsteps approach the bodies nearby her. She also didn't hear how he rustled through each boy's discarded daypack.

"This area is noisy. And, the smell of blood is overwhelming. I don't think I like the smell very much. What do you think?" a voice asked calmly from behind. Shauna spun around, letting Bianca's head fall back into the grass.

She held her breath, instantly recognizing the person who stood behind her. The man, who had been referred to as N, was one of the primary reasons that Shauna didn't wait behind at the school. Somehow, he had come over to where it was noisiest, completely unnoticed by her. His expression was calm, although his eyebrows were raised slightly upon seeing Bianca's dead body. The thing that terrified her most of all was the fact that he was then holding a gun, which looked much bigger than her own. It didn't belong to N, but to Trevor, a SIG-Sauer P230 9mm Short Semi-Automatic Pistol.

"I hate the smell", she replied quietly, hoping that he leave it at that. Instead, he looked at Bianca's body.

"I knew her. This girl's name was Bianca. She was a friend of someone who brought down Team Plasma. I don't know if I can forgive that person, but I never truly knew this girl", he stated.

_Oh. At least I know the name of the person I accidentally killed, _Shauna thought, looking down bitterly.

"You murdered her", N said calmly, as if he was merely adding another fact. She looked up with wide eyes.

"What?" she asked softly.

"You murdered Bianca. I don't think you were wrong to do so. We were all brought here for the purpose of killing each other, and I know I'm not incorrect. It's one of the simplest equations in the world; twenty-seven minus twenty-six equals one. Everybody wants to be that one. It's a natural human instinct", he continued.

"I didn't mean to... It was an accident. I'd never kill just to make sure I survived!" Shauna protested.

"That's... wrong. Human nature proves otherwise. Human beings truly are selfish creatures, at the end of the day... As one myself, I don't judge you."

"I don't care if you don't judge me or not! Please... Please just say you believe me. I'm not a killer. I never wanted to kill anyone, ever. I'd rather die myself", she murmured quietly, looking back down at Bianca's body.

As she did, N noticed that tears were once again streaming down her face. For a moment, he almost began to believe she regretted her actions. He quickly pushed those thoughts out of his mind, thinking of his own desire for survival. She was just like him. They all were.

Placing his finger on the trigger, N let out a small sigh. He knelt down by her ear, and Shauna froze upon feeling his breath on her cheek. She felt something cold pressed against the back of her head, but didn't try to move. She looked over at him, but her eyes were all that she could move. It felt as if the rest of her body was under paralysis.

"I don't believe you", N whispered quietly.

Shauna let out a few final gasping breaths, unable to take her image of being a killer any longer. N didn't give her a moment to protest, however. In a quick motion, he pulled the trigger. As the bullet exited the front of her head, Shauna fell on top of Bianca. N wiped away any blood that had gotten on his face.

Then, he left the scene. Before he was out of the sector, however, he looked back at the four bodies. After that quick glance, he pulled up his sleeve to check his watch. It was 5:13AM. With that, he began to move on.

**_23 Remaining._**

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><p><strong><em>Author's Note:<em> **Oh dear, that was brutal to write.

_Quick note about certain characters: _For those of you that haven't caught up with the BW arc, N is portrayed as more of a villain in Pokespe compared to his game counterpart. As this fic is Pokespe-based, he'll be portrayed as such.

Also, although it doesn't really matter now, Shauna's Pokespe counterpart is much more pessimistic than her game counterpart, just for those that don't know!


	8. Chapter 8

By the time the clock struck 6 that morning, nearly everyone on the island was asleep, or at least trying to. Anyone who had successfully managed to fall asleep was woken up by feedback from speakers, set all around the island. No one was asleep by the time Giovanni started speaking.

"Good morning, everyone. Congratulations to those of you who made it through the first night!" he spoke out.

Blue looked over at Y, who groaned and raised her head off the checkout desk. Rubbing her eyes blearily, she looked around for a few minutes to try and find the source of the sound. She looked over at Blue, who just shrugged, and pulled out her map. Y saw that Blue's lips were pressed into a thin line, and had gone slightly pale. She was clutching her map tightly, and her pencil in the other hand. Sitting up, Y grabbed her own map and pencil.

"First, let's begin with those who died, in chronological order. Participant number twenty-three, Trevor. Participant number twenty-two, Tierno. Participant number one, Bianca. Lastly, participant number twenty, Shauna. Four isn't a bad start. Keep it up, and we'll have our winner in no time", Giovanni announced, calling out each name nonchalantly.

Even though Blue had only learned their names last night, she instantly recognized three of the four as Y's friends, and the people she mainly wanted to meet up with. She almost felt guilty over being relieved that none of her own friends' names were on the list. Y's friends didn't deserve to die, just so Blue's could live. She was working up the courage to say something, when Giovanni suddenly continued.

"Anyway, on with the danger zones. At 7AM, C-10. At 9AM, G-4. At 11AM, H-8. We'll catch up again at twelve."

With that, Giovanni turned off the microphone, casting the island back into silence. Blue finished marking off the sectors on her map, taking note of how their sector remained free. The positivity wasn't anything that could make them feel better, though.

Raising her head, Blue tried to figure out what Y was feeling. The girl had her head down, and the map in her hands was shaking. She was swaying slightly, and Blue worried for a moment she might fall out of sheer shock. Before she could open her mouth, or move, the other girl suddenly spoke up.

"All of them in one night?" she said softly. Compared to when Y walked through the door of the store, she sounded much more meek and timid compared to that girl who had been incredibly cautious of Blue.

"I don't think anything I'll say can help right now, but I'm sorry", Blue replied, feeling at a total loss. _How do you comfort someone who just heard three of their friends are dead?, _she thought.

Hesitantly, Blue walked towards the checkout desk, and perched herself beside Y. The younger girl looked up for a moment, but quickly looked back down. Neither girl knew how long they both sat in silence, before Y spoke again.

"When X started to shut himself away from the world, we had each other. Our one goal was to try and bring him back to the outside world again. We became even closer because of that goal", she said softly.

Blue looked at her intently, waiting for Y to say more. A few minutes passed, and the older girl was beginning to believe that she was finished speaking. Before she could open her mouth, though, Y started talking once more.

"All this time, I was worried about X. Out of everyone here, I thought something like this would destroy him the most. He's been scared of the outside world for years, and then this happens. But I didn't even think that Shauna, Trevor or Tierno might be in danger... I can't believe myself. I just forgot about them. Some friend I am", she muttered, laughing humourlessly at her last words.

"You're not a bad friend. There's always going to be that person you worry about the most, and I don't think it's really sunken in for anyone yet that there are people out there willing to kill", Blue attempted to comfort her.

She received no response. Y still had her head lowered. Her bushy, dirty blonde hair shielded her face from Blue's view. She didn't need to see her face to understand how she felt, though. Y's fingernails were digging into the checkout desk, and her shoulders were trembling. It couldn't be any clearer that she was tremendously upset, and understandably. Blue would be concerned if she wasn't feeling upset after that announcement.

Sidling closer to Y, Blue decided on the most important course of action for that moment. Without another moment of hesitation, she turned the girl towards her, and before Y could say anything, she was pulled into a gentle hug.

"What are you-" she began to say.

"Don't try and hide anything if you're upset, okay?"

Y froze at that. After a few seconds had passed, she returned the hug, her hands resting lightly on Blue's back. She buried her head in the brunette's shoulder, her shaking refusing to subside. Calmly, Blue gently rubbed her back.

Feeling both comfort, guilt and sorrow overwhelm her, Y couldn't hold back anymore. She sobbed softly into Blue's shoulder, gripping the girl's shirt tightly. _I'm such an awful friend. I should have looked for them._

As she cried, Blue gently swayed her. While she still wished she could look out for Silver, and comfort him during any traumatic scenarios, she decided at that moment that she was becoming attached to Y. _Silver's still my top priority, but I'm not going to abandon this girl either, _she thought, listen to Y's soft crying. Blue had decided she would do as much as she could to help the younger girl through any trauma she would face.

* * *

><p>It felt wrong drawing a line through each name of the deceased, but it was something that had to be done. It was similar to crossing off the danger zones; it was important to keep track of what was going on.<p>

Once she was done making changes to her map, Platinum folded up the sheet, and put it back in her daypack. She took another sip of her water before putting that back in too, and zipping up the bag. Taking one last look around the room, she took a hold of her weapon, a sickle, and left the bedroom she had stayed in that night.

As soon as Platinum left the school, the first thing she did was run for shelter. Unlike many of the others on the island, she rarely slept out in the wild throughout her journey, and didn't plan on starting in such dire circumstances. It was a nuisance to know that the area she had stayed in that night, H-8, would become a danger zone at 11AM, but knew it was best to keep moving.

Besides, she considered herself lucky to be alive.

It was a shock to hear that four people had died on the first night. A part of her had sincerely believed that there was no way anybody would die. Although she didn't know a lot of them, she knew the one thing many of them shared in common was that they always managed to avoid death. Regardless of that, people were really out to kill.

Platinum wanted to survive. There was one problem: She didn't want to kill. Also, she didn't want to survive without her two best friends.

Not for the first time since leaving the classroom, Platinum began to think of Diamond and Pearl once more. They had been her first real friends in the outside world, and both were equally important to her. It had hurt leaving the classroom and not seeing either of them there. She still understood. Even though they acted as her bodyguards for so long, they were still mere teenagers caught up in a fight to survive.

"We'll meet again", Platinum whispered to herself, in an act of reassurance.

It upset her to not know where they were, or how they were coping. For that morning, she decided, she was happy that they were both still alive, at the very least.

Deciding not to brood over her thoughts any longer, Platinum hurried down the stairs, clutching her weapon tightly. She was moderately satisfied with getting a sickle. It wasn't the best weapon in self defense, but it did provide her with some comfort. Also, it was light to hold, which made it convenient.

Taking one last look at the house, Platinum approached the front door. She opened it, stepped outside, and looked around. Nobody else had left the sector yet. _This is good. At least I've taken an early start!_

Cautiously, she left the sector, occasionally hiding behind what she could, in case of anybody seeing her. Once Platinum was certain that it was okay to go, she darted out into the west, making her the first person to leave the soon-to-be danger zone.

_**23 Remain.**_


	9. Chapter 9

Lance had been unsurprised to hear that Trevor and Tierno were the first to die, but it meant something significant to him that he was officially the contestant to start off the killings. He assumed that N had taken care of Bianca and Shauna, but he had no way to tell for sure.

_I wonder if he appreciated me leaving behind those weapons, _he thought. After killing the two boys, he had decided against taking their weapons. Lance had no idea whether or not N got a good weapon, but to make it fair game, he decided to leave their bags out in case his weapon served no good purpose. He figured that he would face off against N in a day or two, and it would feel like an unjust win if Lance battled him with a better weapon.

He had been contemplating whether or not it was a good idea as he walked back to the area where had had killed. The sun was beginning to rise, shedding light over the area.

The blood that had covered the grass was beginning to dry, making it less noticeable. Apart from this, one of the first things Lance noticed was that there were two more bodies nearby. He raised his eyebrows, slightly surprised that everyone who had died last night had done so in close proximity.

He also noticed that N had left behind their daypacks, at least. Once he approached them, Lance saw that their bags had been unzipped. The bag closest to the ginger boy was missing its weapon, but the bag closer to the larger boy still had something in it. Approaching it, he was able to tell that Tierno's assigned weapon was a pair of brass knuckles. _So, N isn't one for close combat, then, _he observed.

Taking out the brass knuckles, he put them into his own daypack and approached the other two bodies. One girl, whose head was a deformed mess, was still clutching onto her weapon; a type of pistol. Reaching down, Lance attempted to pry it from her fingers, but her body was too stiff to alter.

Giving up, he approached the other girl, whose neck had been blasted open. Raising an eyebrow at that, Lance wondered what happened to make her collar detonate. Not wanting to contemplate too much on it, he checked her bag. The weapon still remained, and he felt as if he couldn't get luckier.

He pulled a Derringer .22 Double High Standard Pistol out of her daypack. It was a heavy gun to hold, but he could tell it would cause a great deal of damage to anyone who happened to fall victim to it.

Lance put the butcher's knife into his daypack, feeling he no longer had any use for it. He shoved the gun beneath his belt, and proceeded to move forward. The day was still young, and he had a lot to do.

* * *

><p>Hugh ran out of the estate approximately one hour and fifteen minutes after Platinum left. He ran in a different direction to her, but in a much more careless manner. He didn't feel any need to check for possible killers lurking in the area. As far as Hugh was concerned, the most important thing was getting as far away from the area as possible.<p>

It had been hard to hear about Bianca's death, but the truth of the matter was that they were never close. He had only met her once. The person he was most concerned about was Rakutsu.

"No way. He's... He's not going to be in any of those reports. If anyone's going to survive, it's him", Hugh muttered under his breath as he ran.

Although he worried about Rakutsu's flirtatious, carefree nature, Hugh knew that his friend was much stronger than he looked. Every time he thought of potential winners, Rakutsu was a strong candidate.

Hugh was an entirely different matter.

He liked to believe he was strong, and that he had a good chance, but he knew that it would be a lie. The others in that room were strong enough to take down villainous organizations, which proved they certainly weren't to be underestimated. Also, even Hugh had heard of N's strength, and had no wishes to encounter him.

The main thing was that Hugh didn't want to be alone. It didn't matter whether he met up with Rakustu, or his other classmate, Faitsu. Either person would do, but being alone in these circumstances, and not knowing what was happening around the island was incredibly frustrating for him.

Once Hugh was out of the estate, he slowed down. Clutching his assigned weapon, a Smith & Wesson Military & Police .38 Revolver in one hand, he felt like there was no need to rush. He would be able to defend himself, even in long-distance. The one problem was that he had never used a gun before, and it would be difficult to maneuver with such little experience.

_I'm not complaining, though. A good weapon is a good weapon, _he thought. Even though he felt like he had one of the best reasons to try and get home, for his little sister, he still didn't know if he could bring himself to kill. It was a heavy task, to try and take another person's life. Hugh had no idea if he could handle the emotional burden.

_I just don't want to go through this alone, goddammit! Where are they?!_

Biting his lip in frustration, Hugh kept his head down as he walked, but quickly realized that was a bad move. He needed to stay alert at all times, and had no time to keep his head down and mope around. Afraid he missed something, Hugh surveyed the area slowly.

That's when he saw somebody familiar in the distance.

Although it should have been difficult to tell from this point, Hugh was able to identify the person he saw, due to his smart and formal appearance, compared to many of the others on the island. The person in the east was wearing a white shirt, which was folded up to the elbows. His black hair reached his shoulders, and there was the familiar few strands of hair sticking out at the top of his head.

Cheren.

He was the teacher's assistant at their school, and often took over classes. He had given Hugh, Rakutsu and Faitsu their Pokedexes, and was the main reason they were out on that journey. Even though Hugh often got in trouble, he still admired Cheren, and looked to him for help.

In these types of circumstances, Cheren was the perfect person to rely on. He had chosen to take on a job of looking out for those younger than him, and he was clever and coolheaded.

Also, Hugh was sick and tired of being alone.

Without another moment of hesitation, he ran east. The gun was beginning to slip out of his grip, but he barely noticed. _What if it comes to me having to kill him?, _he briefly thought, but quickly shook his head. _No. He'll figure out a way to get off this island without having to kill anyone._

"Cheren!" he shouted out as he moved closer.

At this point, Hugh was an arm's length away from the older boy. There was no hesitation in Cheren's response to Hugh's calling, which is why it completely took the boy off guard.

Cheren swung his whole body around, swinging his assigned weapon, a hatchet into Hugh's upper body. He instantly released the hatchet, which was stuck in at a diagonal angle, running from the left of Hugh's chest to his stomach. Blood oozed out beneath the hatchet.

Hugh's hand brushed against the handle of the hatchet. His strength was quickly fading, and he knew he couldn't remove the weapon. Even if he did, it would probably only lead to more pain. Instead, he looked up at Cheren. Despite his usual calm demeanor, his face was now pale, and terror was visible. _Oh. I scared him._

"You're... You're one of my students, aren't you?" he asked quietly, almost scared to get confirmation. Hugh simply nodded.

He looked too frightened. Hugh wanted to say something. To ask Cheren to take care of his sister, or make sure Rakutsu or Faitsu lived, or to say it was his own fault for sneaking up on him. But, blood was quickly filling up in his punctured lungs, and he could barely breathe, let alone speak.

His last thoughts were wondering, in disbelief, if he was really about to die. It didn't feel like something that would happen to _him, _but there he was, with a hatchet stuck in his body. Whether or not he believed he was dying was no longer relevant, as he fell to the ground. He struggled to take in a few last breaths, but to no avail. Several seconds later, Hugh was dead.

"No... No, no, no, no. This can't be happening. I... I need to leave this instant..." Cheren groaned.

_I'm so sorry about this, _he thought as he took Hugh's gun from his hand. Then, he ran off, leaving the body and his assigned weapon behind.

**_22 Remaining._**

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><p><strong><em>Author's Note:<em> **I know in the BW2 manga, Cheren's their fully-fledged teacher, but since I bumped up/down ages in this, it'd be strange having a 15 year old be a fulltime teacher for 13 year olds. Next chapter should be up soon!


	10. Chapter 10

_This is horrid._

Cheren put his hands on his knees, taking in deep breaths. Even though he was several feet away from Hugh's body at that point, the smell of blood seemed to remain in the air. He had done an awful thing, and he knew that no matter how far he ran, that fact would remain with him.

It felt even worse that out of all the people he did it to, it was to a student of his. He wasn't a full-fledged teacher yet, but as their own teacher was old and ill, he often took over her classes, to the point where he could easily be considered their main teacher. Hugh, Rakutsu and Faitsu. All three of them must have been terrified, and out of everyone they could trust, Cheren believed that they would rank him near the top of their lists.

And he murdered one of those students.

Ever since he had left the school, he had been on edge. He had moved constantly throughout the night, occasionally spotting another participant, but refusing to call out to them. By the 6AM announcement, he was near the west of the island, and perhaps his big mistake was remaining out in the open.

The 6AM announcement had upset him greatly. Bianca had been by his side, along with Black, since they were children. He had been concerned that, due to both their natures, they would end up in the 6AM announcement, but a part of him remained hopeful that they would live. Despite his beliefs, Bianca still ended up dead.

Her ditzy, yet kind personality, and her wishes to help everyone in any way she could. Memories of her remained strong to Cheren. The fact that somebody had taken her life had replaced his sorrow with anger. He wanted to know who did it, and while he contemplated what to do, he had remained in the same sector for much longer than he planned to.

While he was contemplating whether or not he had the ability to kill, he heard footsteps rapidly approach him. Before even registering who it was, he had swung the hatchet without a second thought. It only registered in his mind seconds later that the person knew him, as they called out his name.

Due to the fact he had acted without thinking for once, it ended up with Hugh dying. He couldn't tell what the younger boy had been feeling, but Cheren guessed that the last thing he wanted was to be alone. Cheren had betrayed his trust, and he had no idea how to make things right.

It was difficult to believe he actually _killed. _The process was far too easy, and Hugh had died so quickly. Despite how simple the process felt, it had sent him reeling, and despite the amount of remorse he was feeling, it felt like he wasn't reacting in the right way at all. He had no idea what course of action he should take next. It didn't feel right to simply _do _anything after taking someone's life.

For once, Cheren was at a complete loss about what to do.

He stood up properly once more, his arms swaying at his sides. He didn't feel any desire to think for much longer. Between hearing about Bianca's death, and taking Hugh's life, the morning had drained too much from him. He looked up at the sky, which was becoming a bright blue. He stood there, simply staring upwards for a moment, until something caught his attention.

"Hello."

He turned around, not bothering to lift his gun. However, Cheren's eyes widened upon seeing who it was, snapping him out of his blank state. The person who had spoken calmly to him was Lance, one of the two men chosen to kill the others in this game. His eyes then rested upon Lance's own gun.

"I saw a few bodies on my way here. Did you kill?" he said, his tone still far too calm.

"I have no idea what you're talking about", Cheren hissed, finally beginning to realize he was in a dangerous situation.

"I see. If you don't then why is there blood on your clothes?" Lance asked, raising an eyebrow.

Cheren looked down. For the first time, he finally saw that after killing Hugh, some of his blood splattered on him. He felt exposed, and even guiltier than he did before.

Lance could have taken the opportunity to kill him while he was distracted by his bloody clothes, but decided to taunt him more. The morning had just begun, and there was plenty of time to kill before the next announcement.

"I saw a girl. Shot through the head. Rather ruthlessly, by the looks of things. And, you have a gun! Was she the person you killed?" he asked, maintaining a curious tone.

_He thinks I killed Bianca. Someone shot her through the head, and he thinks it was me?!, _Cheren thought, looking at Lance with wide eyes. Then, he saw the smirk on the older man's face. _He's trying to make me angry, or to distract me. He's going to try and kill me! I've already killed, and this man seems to be out for blood, so what does it matter?_

Lance's smirk quickly disappeared when Cheren raised his gun. He squeezed down on the trigger, and a bullet flew out. Letting out an annoyed grunt, Lance dropped down onto his knees. The bullet whizzed past his head, taking a few strands of his hairs as it did.

Cheren looked at the gun, as if it failed to do its job. All he wanted was to be safe from this man, and to stop his taunting over Bianca's death. He was able to kill Hugh easily enough, but for some reason, he was completely unable to kill Lance. _If I can kill anyone, I can only kill people who are weaker than me. How cowardly._

Before he could fire another bullet, Lance sprung back up. Furious at Cheren for trying to kill him, he wasted no time in shooting out four bullets, making sure he wouldn't miss. It was difficult to do so with the gun, but he knew it would be worth it.

Dropping Hugh's gun, Cheren moved his head to the left. A bullet whizzed past his ear. However, the second bullet flew right through his chest, causing him to stagger backwards. The third bullet hit him in the shoulder. The fourth never got to him, as Cheren was sprawled out on the floor by that point.

Lance walked over to him, keeping the gun aimed. Cheren grasped his own shirt, taking in short, painful breaths. They became slower and more gradual over the coarse of a few minutes, and the grip on his shirt became loser. After those minutes passed, Cheren's hand simply laid over the wound in his chest, which had stopped rising.

After watching this entire scene play out, Lance reached down and took the second gun. Placing it in his own daypack as a backup, he continued onwards. His only regret was that he didn't get to taunt Cheren more before his death.

* * *

><p>Pearl froze. Somewhere nearby, the sound of shooting resonated. This was followed by several more shots, causing the blond-haired boy to wince. He wished he could fool himself, but the most realistic thing he could assume was that somebody else had died.<p>

This was a nightmare. People were dying all around him, and Pearl couldn't even feel sorry for them. During the first announcement, all he could think of was the fact he was relieved Dia and Platinum weren't on the list. It was an awful thing to do, but he couldn't imagine those two dying, while some random stranger lived.

It was a horrible frame of mind. Pearl didn't want to think like that at all. He wanted to look out for the others, but he knew that his two best friends always took first priority. Ever since it had been announced they would be taking part in the program, he had already decided that he would give up his life for either of them to live.

He ran further south, hoping to get as far away as possible from the people who had fired their guns. As he ran, he could see the housing estate, which spread over H-8 and H-9. Pearl remembered that H-8 was going to become a danger zone at 11AM, but H-9 would remain safe.

At that moment, he remembered how Platinum always preferred to stay indoors. He doubted she would ever remain in an area that was due to become a danger zone for too long. It might be a slim chance, but it was definitely worth checking to see if she had gone into H-9.

Running off, Pearl hoped that Platinum would be there. Being out on this island on his own was becoming too much for him. It was frustrating not knowing where his two best friends were, but it was relieving to finally have somewhere to start. As he ran, all he could do was hope that the gunshots that had rung out a while ago didn't involve Dia or Platinum.

* * *

><p>Emerald could be heard softly breathing from behind the door. Kris was alone in the waiting room of the clinic. Three doors were behind her. One contained a room with twelve beds, one of which Emerald was currently occupying. The second one led up to a balcony-like area, possibly for doctors or patients to get fresh air. The third room was an examination office.<p>

It was a rather run-down clinic, which led Kris to believe that the island didn't have many inhabitants. The clinic was located in G-9, towards the east. Kris and Emerald arrived at the clinic shortly after two in the morning, where they immediately began to brainstorm.

They both mutually decided that their top choices for recruiting were Ruby, Sapphire, Gold, Silver and their seniors from Kanto. They also decided later that they would look out for any possible recruits, mainly argued by Kris.

She believed that, as one of the older participants, she had to look out for those who were far too young to participate in this death game. As well as that, she figured that they would be relieved to see that they weren't alone in such a terrifying situation. With that decided, Emerald decided to get some sleep, while Kris stared out the window of the waiting room. She decided that if she spotted anybody running this way, with a few exceptions, she would call out to them.

Sighing, Kris laid her cheek on her palm. So far, she failed to see anyone, and could only hope the day would be better. _It'll be even better if Gold happens to pass by outside, _she thought, and quickly stopped herself. _No, don't show bias all because you... You know._

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by the sound of gunshots. Kris jumped up from her seat, and the door to the first room quickly opened. Emerald ran out, looking around.

"What's going on?!" he asked, panicking.

"I don't know-" Kris began to say, when more gunshots resonated.

The two teenagers stood there in silence for a moment. Neither spoke for a while, wanting to make sure that was the last of them. During those silent moments, Kris found herself observing Emerald. His gelled up hair was slowly drooping, and he had abandoned his platforms. She found that he couldn't look more childlike.

The only non-childish quality about him then was the fact that he was holding his assigned weapon. It was a sawed-off Remington M31 Pump-Action Shotgun, which looked far too large in his hands.

"I'm pretty sure that was the last of them. You don't think it was anyone we want to meet, right?" Emerald said.

"I can't tell... I hope so. They might all be okay. Please don't worry! And I'm sorry that woke you up. Do you want to go back to sleep?" Kris offered. He shook his head.

"Nope. I've been awake for a while now. Sorry I didn't come out. Do you need to sleep?" he asked.

"I... I think I'll try to. Thank you, Emerald. Do you want my weapon too, or are you okay with the shotgun?"

"I can try and manage with this."

With that, Kris nodded and walked towards the room. The bed closest to the door was unmade, and it looked like Emerald practically scrambled out of the bed upon hearing gunshots.

Kris climbed into another bed, pulling the green, wool blanket up to her chin. Even though several minutes had passed since hearing those gunshots, their echoes still resonated in her mind. Squeezing the blanket tighter, she was anxious to know whether or not the number of people on the island had gone down.

She didn't want anyone to fight. That was why she was keen on gathering as many people as possible, as Kris wanted nobody else to get hurt. She tried to remain impartial to everyone, but as she kept on thinking, she realized that her wishes for Gold and Silver's wellbeing triumphed all her other thoughts.

**_21 Remaining._**


	11. Chapter 11

Ruby's chest rose and fell slowly. Shortly after the first announcement, he and Sapphire talked for a short while, before she offered to let him sleep for a while. He didn't particularly mind, considering that Sapphire had slept through the night, while he kept watch. Despite the fact that it was becoming bright, and there was a lot to be nervous about, Ruby managed to fall asleep at around six thirty. It had been two hours since then.

Since then, Sapphire had been watching over him quietly. She noticed how peaceful and calm he looked, even though their circumstances were anything but that. Once she noticed that she had been staring at him, she quickly looked forward instead. _This is a death game and you're thinking about him. Get a grip!, _she thought.

Biting her lip, Sapphire drew her knees close to her chest. She felt guilty for thinking of Ruby like this in such desperate circumstances, but at the same time, she also felt as if it would be her last time to think like this. Last night had made her happier than she had ever been, and Sapphire wanted nothing more than these times to continue. Even though it had been years since they originally confessed, he still loved her, and even though the circumstances were all wrong, it made everything worthwhile.

_Is there even a chance that the two of us could get out?, _she thought. Even though she remained hopeful, Sapphire still knew that the chances of being unable to escape were higher. _What'll I do if me and Ruby end up being the last two?_

Shaking her head quickly, Sapphire decided that she would cross that bridge when she got to it. The scenario was a heavy topic, and the last thing she wanted to do was think about either of them dying.

Ruby groaned next to her. Snapping her head over, Sapphire saw that he was writhing in his sleep, and his expression was distressed. _Shit, he's having a nightmare! What are people even supposed to do with stuff like this?! Well, time to take a guess._

"Oi, Ruby! Wake up! You listening? Wake up!" she shouted, shaking him roughly.

_"Ahhh! _What's the matter?! Did something happen?!" Ruby panicked, sitting upright.

He still looked distressed, and had broken out in a cold sweat. _Alright, not my best plan of action, _Sapphire thought, frowning. She put her hand over his, making his ragged breathing calmer.

"Yeah. I thought you were having some kind of nightmare, and I had no idea how to wake you", she admitted, sounding a little ashamed.

"Oh. I was, but I don't fully remember what it was about... I think it's likely that we'll have nightmares an awful lot from now on", he mumbled.

"Mmh... I guess so."

Noticing that Sapphire looked both troubled and annoyed, Ruby shifted his hand beneath hers, until he was able to interlock their fingers. Her troubled expression was then replaced by one of surprise and embarrassment. She quickly glanced at him, and then looked away immediately.

"I was going to suggest moving to a different spot. What do you say?" he asked.

That brought Sapphire out of her embarrassed state, as his question reminded her of something. While Ruby was sleeping, she had begun to think of another possible strategy that would allow them to stay in the forest for a little while longer. She had thought of keeping watch from a higher spot, such as a tree, and warning Ruby down below if anyone happened to be approaching. Due to her tree-climbing skills, Sapphire was confident that she would be able to find a good place to keep watch from.

After telling Ruby her idea, he nodded after some deliberation.

"That sounds like a good plan... Perhaps if we had a weapon like a gun, it would be even better, but a knife will do for self defense. Are you sure you want to stay in this sector for another while? We can move out after a different report", he offered.

"Yeah, I'm certain! So, that's settled. Let's find a different spot, though. That tree's pretty small", Sapphire mumbled, looking at the tree that they had slept under.

With that, she got up, quickly followed by Ruby. The boy in front of her was wiping dirt frantically off the back of his pants, but she could hardly care less about how her clothes were. After walking for a few minutes, they were coming close to the area they entered through once more. Sapphire came to a stop. When Ruby no longer heard her footsteps, he hurried to her side. They both looked up at the tree Sapphire had stopped at for a moment, before looking back at each other.

"This one's as tall as we're gonna get. I'll climb up. Stay down here!" she instructed, placing the knife into her belt.

Ruby stayed put. He was tempted to try some kind of romantic gesture before she climbed up, not knowing the next time they'd be properly by each other's sides again. Before he could, she had begun to climb up, clinging onto various parts of the bark. Sapphire seemed to have her eye on a thick branch to lie across.

Before she could reach the branch, a pair of arms shot out from the thickness of the leaves. In the person's hands was some kind of crossbow, loaded with an arrow. Sapphire immediately halted, pressing her head against the bark.

"Hey, wait a minute! I'm not playing! Put that thing away!" she snapped.

Upon hearing her voice, the person in the tree brought their arms back. Sapphire regretted not holding the army knife in her mouth for grabbing purposes, but those regrets were quickly forgotten about. The person within the trees pushed the leaves behind their back, revealing their face. Ruby, who had been watching the entire scene, sighed in relief upon seeing who it was.

Yellow, one of their seniors from Kanto, was perched on the branch Sapphire had her eyes on. She was clutching the crossbow tightly, which was no longer pointed at the younger girl. Her face had gone red out of shame.

"I'm sorry. I was worried you two might be enemies. You're Sapphire, right? We met at the Battle Frontier", Yellow said cautiously.

"Yeah, that's me. I'm here with Ruby too. He's down there. And you're Yellow, aren't you?" Sapphire asked.

"Yes! I'm happy to hear you aren't playing. I'm very sorry about pointing my weapon at you, but can you trust me?" she replied, beginning to frown. She looked down at Ruby, who waved up at her.

"Why'd you point that thing at me?" Sapphire demanded to know first.

"As I said, I-I thought you two might be enemies. I promise, I wouldn't have if I had known you two were people I could trust. Please believe me when I say that I'm sorry! Can you two try to trust me? I promise I'll give up my weapon, if you want."

Biting her lip, Sapphire glanced up at her, and then back down to Ruby. He had been quiet during their brief talk, and realized that he was being asked to speak. Trying to choose his words wisely, he began.

"Sapphire and I were planning on moving out throughout the island, so if you're planning on staying here, then we can't be in an alliance for very long. But, I do remember you, and I think you're trustworthy. You can keep your weapon", Ruby announced, cupping his hands around his mouth to get his words across.

"That's such a relief to hear... Thank you, Ruby. Um... I've been up here for a while. Do you two mind if I come down there?" Yellow asked, sounding much more relieved.

Nodding, Sapphire slid down the tree trunk, arriving back at the bottom, doing so to allow Yellow to climb down. The blonde followed Sapphire down carefully, still clutching onto her weapon. Once she hopped onto the ground, the brunette prepared to climb up, when Yellow quickly tugged her backwards.

"My weapon can shoot long-range. I think we should be safe down here, if you want to stay down", she informed them, looking back and forth between each of her juniors.

"If you're sure we'll be safe, then that's fine by me. Sapphire?" Ruby asked.

"Alright by me. I guess it won't be so bad to be down here, anyway", she mumbled, glancing over at the boy. When their eyes met, Ruby quickly averted his gaze, his face turning a shade of pink. Yellow watched the scene curiously.

"A-Anyway, Yellow, how long have you been here?" Ruby questioned, turning to his senior.

"Hmm... As soon as I left the classroom, really. I just kept running until I found a suitable spot to stay for the night. I was a little scared to go any further into the sector", she explained, fiddling with the sleeve of her shirt.

"I thought I heard something last night..." Ruby muttered.

"And you didn't say anything?!" Sapphire exclaimed. Sensing a bicker session about to begin, Yellow quickly spoke.

"Did you two happen to see anyone else on your way here?" she asked quickly. The two paused.

"No. We ran all the way here", Ruby said.

Yellow nodded, feeling a pang of disappointment. She had hoped to meet up with Red, considering he should have been out shortly before Ruby and Sapphire. Putting her disappointment aside, she did feel relieved to have people on her side, if only briefly. Considering she felt at ease in the forest, she decided that she would stay there, or eventually leave to search for Red. She needed to clear her mind and form a plan first.

"That's okay... I don't mind. Do you want to sit down? I want to see what you got as weapons. Also, I think we could all relax for a while", Yellow suggested, kneeling down underneath the tree.

Ruby and Sapphire agreed with her, sitting down beside each other. The incident with the initial mistrust had been forgotten, and at that moment, they were merely relieved to have formed a larger group.

* * *

><p>Black thrust his double bladed knife into the air, holding on tightly to the handle. He let out a grunt as he did so. After performing the fake stabbing motion, he let his arm remain in that position for a while. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he put the knife back by his side. <em>Why am I even practicing this? I heard those gunshots. What's a knife going to do in a gunfight?<em>

Ever since he had woken up in the classroom, Black had been less than pleased. He had hopes and dreams he wished to accomplish, all of which could easily be thrown away. Hearing about Bianca's death earlier that morning had pushed him from annoyed to furious.

He had no idea who had murdered her, which pissed him off further. If he knew, he would show no mercy towards her killer, even if he had the largest gun that entered Black's mind. He had never believed in killing, and never thought it would come to this, but if it meant avenging his friends and granting him a chance to live, he decided he would have to compromise.

Black thrust his knife out again. It wasn't fair. For all he knew, the others on the island could have had experience with weapon training, while he was stuck to learn how to properly stab. He didn't even have any idea _when _he would need to use this.

The truth was that Black didn't want to kill anyone. He was still just a kid, with hopes and ambitions. He always saw himself as a good person, but it disturbed him that he was possibly less reluctant about killing, compared to the others.

_I need to calm down, _he thought.

Abandoning his make-do training for the time being, Black put the double-bladed knife back into his daypack, and walked further down the beach. The water was calmer than the previous night, and lapped against his shoes every few seconds. Without Musha to eat Black's dreams, it was tougher to concentrate, but being in a peaceful place was a decent substitute.

He sighed, sitting down in the sand. _I need to find Cheren. He'll be able to form some kind of logical plan to get us out of here._

Black groaned, and threw his head back. He had no idea what was the right thing to do.

* * *

><p><em>Beep, beep, beep.<em>

Footsteps were approaching. Green sat up quickly, and checked the device. On the plastic screen, a black dot remained in the middle of the screen as it always did, but there was a red dot approaching from the upper left corner. Turning off his device, Green began to move slowly.

He peeked over the top of the bush he had been hiding behind. The device had been right; in the north-west, a person with green hair was striding along. _He's one of the men brought in to kill us, _Green reminded himself, continuing to watch the man.

N appeared to be walking in a straight line, from north-west to north-east. At one point, he came to a stop at a parallel to Green's hiding spot. The teenager froze, holding his breath. It felt as if those seconds waiting for N to pass were like an eternity.

Eventually, the man began to walk once more. Once N was out of his sight, Green let out a small, relieved sigh. Turning back on the device, he noticed it was no longer beeping, as N's dot was gone from the screen.

It was a strange assigned weapon that took him a while to figure out how to use to his advantage. It was a rectangular grey tin, which had a black plastic screen in the middle. On the back of the device, it read "Collar-Tracking Device". After turning it on, Green figured out that the black dot which remained in the middle represented him. Any red dots that appeared on the screen were other people around him. It didn't tell him who was who, though.

At first, Green was frustrated he didn't get a better weapon. Then, he realized that in terms of avoiding danger, it was one of the best possible weapons he could get. For the time being, he would be more than content to avoid people such as Lance and N. It was frustrating to not know where Red or Blue were, though.

He figured the night would be too dangerous to search for either of them. It was too dark to make out anyone's features, and Green didn't want to die a stupid death. So, he figured that from 6AM until 6PM, he would try looking for either of his best friends. It was a long shot, but they were the two main allies he could think of.

Although he wouldn't admit it once he found them, Green hated not knowing where they were, or how they were feeling. The most frustrating thing was not knowing if they were even alive by that point. It had been a few hours since the 6AM announcement, and he wasn't going to try and convince himself that they were completely safe. He thought it was highly unlikely they would die early, but there was still a possibility.

After Green was certain N was completely out of sight, he switched back on the tracker. Only his dot was in the middle. Hoisting up his daypack once more, he moved quietly through the sector, waiting for any dots to appear on the screen.

None appeared throughout the sector he cleared. He already knew that it was going to be a long day.

_**21 Remaining.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_I'm so sorry this chapter was so filler-ish. There were some important characters I wanted to introduce before their significant scenes and what they were up to, hence this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it regardless! I should have the next chapter up soon, and I promise there will be more happening in that. Also, do you have any predictions for the winner yet? If you do, I'd love to hear!


	12. Chapter 12

As much as Faitsu wished for H-8 to not become a danger zone, she knew that she had to leave before 11AM. Staying inside a house was ideal. It would give her time to think and be alone, but even that simple wish couldn't be granted. It felt like bad luck kept targeting her. First the disbanding of Team Plasma, receiving a Pokedex, and now having to fight to the death.

It just wasn't fair. She didn't even _want _a Pokedex. She fully believed what her lord said about how awful they were. It was even more unfair that she was competing alongside the boy who had forced Team Plasma to disband. _If I see that boy, I will try and kill him. If it wasn't for Black, my lord N and I would never have to participate in anything like this, _she thought as she left the house she resided in that night.

Of course, maybe it wasn't fair to say she was _completely _unlucky.

One of Faitsu's hands rested over the locket containing N's picture, and the other was gripping her weapon, an Ingram M-10 Machine Pistol. The weapon, which was shaped like a tin box, was easily one of the best weapons on the island in terms of offense. While she was happy with her weapon, Faitsu wondered if she would be able to use it.

Even though she had never fancied the idea of killing anyone, she did know that there were certain circumstances where she would kill. The main circumstance was in the event that she had to defend N's life. Out of everyone on the island, he was the most important to her. He was the King of Team Plasma, and had been in charge of a righteous movement.

Nobody else on the island deserved to live on the island more than him, including her. Faitsu liked to believe she was a good person, sharing the same ideals as N, but even she had sinned, by accepting the Pokedex. She wanted to live as much as anyone else on the island did, but if she had to choose between herself and N, her lord would always come first. He was the only one who _truly _deserved to live.

"My life for yours. I'll do whatever it takes to ensure you'll survive", she whispered to herself, clutching the locket tighter.

Faitsu was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps. Looking around, her gaze eventually settled upon a blond boy in a striped sweater. He was clutching a large knife, and had stopped as well. He looked like he was deliberating something, but Faitsu had no time to waste. Everyone on this island was a threat, both to herself and him. _There may be one or two exceptions, _she thought, but quickly pushed that out of her mind.

She raised the Ingram, her finger resting on the trigger. The boy's eyes grew wide, and before she could squeeze the trigger, he took off into H-9. Faitsu could hear his heavy breathing, and contemplating going after him, but decided against it.

_I need to find my Lord. He will know the right path to take. He always does._

Feeling slightly more comforted, Faitsu left H-8, and ran out into the unknown.

* * *

><p>After he was certain that he was safe, Pearl stopped running. His heart was hammering against his chest. That was too much of a close call with death. That girl had wasted no time in lifting that gun at him, and he was certain that she wouldn't have hesitated in killing him. <em>Dammit, that's it. I can't reach out to anyone here apart from Dia or Platina, <em>he thought.

He gripped on to his weapon as he approached a house. The weapon was similar to the one Lance chose from the house; a butcher's knife. Of course, Pearl quickly learned that it would probably be useless against a weapon like that girl's. He began to worry that others on the island had guns, and other weapons that would easily defeat a knife, but he decided not to worry too much.

_She didn't kill me. I'm safe for now, _he thought, moving along.

After approaching the first two houses, he discovered they were locked. When Pearl tried opening the third door, however, it opened. Tightening his grip on the knife, he entered the house, closing the door behind him. The first thing he noticed in the hall was a daypack. _Someone's in here._

Holding his breath, Pearl slowly entered the living room.

* * *

><p>Red stood up immediately upon hearing the door open. He hadn't slept much throughout the night, and had taken to examining the house. When he reentered the living room, he had left his daypack out in the hallway, but decided not to get it. He wasn't hungry or thirsty, and also his weapon was useless in self defense.<p>

He hadn't been expecting any visitors either. At first, Red regretted leaving his daypack out in the hallway, but quickly pushed those thoughts away. He had decided to trust the others on the island from this point onwards, so he decided that having his weapon or not was irrelevant.

A blond-haired boy entered the room. When Red's eyes met Pearl's, the younger boy immediately froze up out of shock. Then, he pointed the knife towards Red.

"Who are you?!" he asked, his tone high-strung.

"R-Relax! My name's Red. I'm from Kanto", Red introduced himself, trying to maintain a casual tone.

Pearl instantly recognized his name. Red was the Champion of the Kanto League, and renowned for being incredibly strong, despite his carefree demeanor. _He could even be stronger than Platinum. It's way too unfair to pit us against guys like him._

"What's your weapon?" Pearl asked, remaining hostile.

"A dartboard and darts. It's in my daypack out in the hallway. You can check, if you want", Red offered.

"No! I'm not leaving here!"

"O-Okay! Don't, then! Listen, I'm not playing. We can all work together to find a way out."

Pearl furrowed his brows at that. He had always admired those who were older than him, and believed in what they said. However, in this situation, he found himself doubting this older boy's words. How much could they accomplish without any Pokemon to help? Chances were that they would accomplish very little. He had begun to seriously doubt that more than one person could live.

"What happens if we don't accomplish that?! Only one person can live... Don't you have someone that you want to save?" Pearl asked softly.

"Well, yeah, I have a few, but..." Red began.

"No! Would you kill others to make sure they would live?!" Pearl interrupted him, growing more and more tense.

"Well, I'd try to do everything I could to make sure they'd be okay, but I won't kill", Red muttered, feeling like he was at a loss.

"There's no other way, don't you get it? People out there are ready to kill, and I... I don't want to, but if it means protecting the two most important people to me, I will! I can't let them die", Pearl whimpered, sounding much less intimidating.

"Listen to me. We can work things out, somehow. No one has to kill anyone, including you. We can find a way to make sure your friends will be safe!" Red encouraged. As much as he tried to sound enthusiastic, the truth was that he was quickly losing hope too. _Will I really have to turn to killing?_

"No, you still don't get it. Just say it boils down to you and your friends versus me, Dia and Platinum. You and your friends would probably be- No, you _alone _would be able to take us down! I can't let you hurt them for _any _reason!" Pearl snapped.

His mind turned back to the girl with the Ingram. She looked slightly younger than Pearl, and yet she had been unafraid to point her gun at him. He had a feeling that if he didn't run, he would have ended up being on the next report. If that was against someone younger, he didn't even want to think of how slim his chances would be against someone like Red.

_This kid's really high-strung. I understand him, though. He wants to protect the people he cares about, but he thinks I'll attack them to protect my friends, _Red thought, looking at the shaking boy in front of him. He decided that, before he could try and form an alliance, the most important thing was to try and calm Pearl down.

"Please, try to calm down, and we can-" Red slowly began to speak as he walked towards Pearl.

"_Don't come near me!" _

At that point, Red had been incredibly close to Pearl. That's what made Pearl's next action so easy to do. With just a jolt of his arm, the knife was thrust forward, and into Red's abdomen. In disbelief, both boys looked down. Pearl seemed unable to let go of it for several seconds, astounded by his own action. _Did I really just do that? Did I really just try to _kill him_?_

With a grunt, Pearl removed the knife, hoping that the damage would be irreversible. Continuing to look down, he saw that a blood was beginning to pump from the wound. Then, he saw a pale, shaking hand cover the spot. _What the hell have I done?, _he thought.

His eyes met Red's once more. The older boy still looked shocked, and much paler. Pearl dropped the knife, and raised his hands, unsure of what to do with them. Once he did raise his hands, Red staggered backwards, almost stumbling to the floor.

"I was scared!" Pearl blurted, knowing that his excuse meant nothing.

He was too scared to spend another moment in the same room as the person he had stabbed. Letting out a small groan, Pearl turned on his heel and ran out of the house. He kept running, until he was out of the estate. He didn't know how far he had run for. After stabbing Red, he decided to just keep running, to try and clear his mind.

_"I was scared". _Pearl scoffed at his excuse. He was no better than that girl that pointed the Ingram at him. In fact, he considered himself to be worse. There was a boy bleeding, possibly to death, inside that house. It had been all his fault, and there was no other way to put it.

* * *

><p>Back inside the house, Red was still in shock over the sudden events. All he wanted to do was calm down the blond boy, but instead he had provoked him. There was no way he would have attacked Pearl, though. He had decided not to kill, but he didn't expect things to end up like <em>this.<em>

Red looked down at his hand. It was shaking, and quickly becoming drenched in blood. The sight was making him dizzy. _I need to get out of here. _

However, when he tried to step forward, he ended up staggering, swayed for a few seconds, and fell. The impact of landing on the floor had sent a jolt of pain to the wound, causing Red to groan and clutch it tighter. Panting, Red pressed his back against the wall, still wondering how things had become so dire so quickly.

_I don't want to die here, _he thought, staring forward. The pain caused by the wound was becoming more painful by the minute.

**_21 Remaining._**


	13. Chapter 13

In G-9, Green was examining his tracker closely. For a while, there was no response, which surprised him, considering he was coming close to the residence area. _Maybe they've left. Besides, there's only an hour to go before it becomes a danger zone, _he thought. To be certain, he decided to check H-9.

Almost as soon as he entered the estate, the tracker started beeping. Following its indication, Green discovered that somebody was inside the third house on the left. Turning off the device, he proceeded to walk slowly up to the house. Once he reached it, he crouched down below window-level, and snuck over to the right side of the house.

There was a medium-sized window. Slowly, Green raised his head, hoping to catch a view of someone. He did, but it only increased his internal panic levels.

He was immediately able to identify the person, who was leaning against the wall, as Red. The second thing he noticed was that his blue jeans were turning crimson. It didn't take him long to figure out that he was bleeding.

Without delaying, Green stood up, and ran towards the front door. Not to his surprise, it was unlocked. Opening the door wide, he ran into the living room, praying that Red was still alive. That fear was quickly discarded, as Red raised his head upon hearing Green enter the living room.

Green had so many questions to ask. He was terrified for his friend's future, but he couldn't let that show. All he wanted was for Red and Blue to be okay, out of everyone on the island. He couldn't believe how quickly his worst fear had become a reality, but he had no time to dwell on it. Red was his top priority at that moment.

"Green, what are you doing?" Red spoke hoarsely.

"Don't bother asking. I'm taking you to the clinic. Can you stand?" Green asked.

Red seemed to deliberate for a moment, and then attempted to move his legs. The pain in his stomach was making the thought of moving a dreadful one. When he attempted to move, it only caused a new jolt of pain to awaken in the wound. He groaned, and Green quickly knelt down beside him.

"I'll take that as a no", he muttered.

With that, he draped Red's right arm over his own shoulder, and gripped onto his right hand to keep him supported. With a grunt, he stood up, practically dragging Red with him. Green came to the startling realization that his friend was much lighter, due to blood loss.

As he walked out of the house, Red couldn't bring himself to begin walking. All of his limbs felt numb. It was as if they had lost all ability to work, as much as he urged them to. He felt awful about making Green do all of this, but it felt physically impossible to move.

"How long were you in there?" Green asked, attempting to maintain a calm tone.

"A while... Wasn't keeping track of time..." Red mumbled.

Grimacing, Green realized that "a while" could be anywhere from five minutes up to three hours. He had no idea how much time he had left to save his friend, or if it was even possible. _No, don't think like that. It's possible, _he attempted to convince himself.

He had more questions for Red. The biggest question was about the person who hurt him. It would be a good safety precaution, but Green also wanted revenge against that person. Anyone who was able to do this to Red, and leave him to die, deserved to feel the same amount of pain.

Gritting his teeth, Green attempted to maintain his calmness. He turned to Red, ready to ask him about his killer, but was taken off guard. It only occurred to him at that moment that Red looked unbelievably weak. He was struggling to keep his head up, and had a pained, defeated expression. It was impossible to believe that this was the same boy who had defeated him in the Kanto League. He couldn't remember the last time he saw Red look so _weak._

As he was staring at Red, Green had completely forgotten about watching his step. His attention was only brought back to walking forward when his foot collided with something. Before he could stop himself, he stumbled over a medium-sized rock, and his grip subconsciously tightened on Red's hand as he fell.

Green sat up, annoyed he made such an embarrassing blunder. He heard a groan. Quickly, he helped Red sit up too, and wiped away dirt that had gotten on his face. Seeing Red begin to sway once more, Green realized that they couldn't delay, and stood up once more, reaching down to grab Red's hand. However, Red kept his hands clasped together.

"Green, you're the most logical one, right?" he said, trying to confirm. Green raised an eyebrow at the odd question.

"You could say that. Why?"

"Then why are you still trying to take me to the clinic?" Red asked quietly, before looking up. "I don't think I'm going to live."

"Don't start talking like that! If you come with me, I can-"

"I don't want to go. I'm going to die, and you know it too. Stay with me, please", Red requested, cutting off Green's rant. With what looked like some effort, the weaker boy looked up and smiled.

Green wanted to argue further, but he knew that Red had a point. He had never been the type of person to lie to himself when the truth was blatant. When Chuck helped him to train, Green had to admit he had been much weaker than he originally believed. At the age of eleven, he had to admit he had been too cocky, and that Red was a stronger trainer. Now, he had to admit that Red was about to die, and Green couldn't do anything to prevent that.

Trying not to think too hard about what was going to happen, Green sat down beside Red. The other boy looked grateful that he had complied, but his brief moment of happiness didn't last. Dizziness was quickly returning, and to balance himself from falling once more, Red clutched onto Green's sleeve.

"Are you uncomfortable in that position?" Green asked.

"Uh... Just a little", Red admitted.

They both knew that laying down would be the most comfortable solution. After a moment of deliberation, Green pried Red's hand off his shoulder. Then, Green hoisted Red's upper body into his lap, and noticed that his breathing became less ragged. It did feel a little awkward for Green, but decided that those kind of hesitant feelings didn't matter.

"Are you okay with this?" Green questioned uncertainly.

"Yeah, it's fine."

After a few seconds had passed, Red laid his hand over the wound again, hoping to compress it. Green waited before speaking once more.

"Who did this to you?"

"Doesn't matter. That person was scared", Red muttered, trying to drop the subject.

"I don't care if they were scared, they still did this to you! Describe them."

"Younger... Blonde... But I'm not angry at them. I'm scared too, Green. Everyone is. People don't think straight when they're scared."

"I know", Green replied distractedly.

In his mind, he was trying to run over all the blondes. The first contestant, Bianca, to leave the room was blonde, but she had died before 6AM. There was also Yellow, but Green already knew that she would never try and hurt Red. That left the girl with bushy hair, and the boy, but he couldn't pinpoint between those two.

He wanted to question Red further, but it was clear that the subject was a distressing one. The most important priority was making Red's last moments as comfortable as possible, and Green decided the last thing he wanted to talk about was his friend's killer.

"Hey, Green?" Red spoke up quietly.

"What?"

"I'm glad you found me. I wanted to see you before... well, dying", he admitted.

_This is the perfect opportunity to tell him everything, _Green thought. He knew it would be his last ever opportunity to admit all that needed to be admitted, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. He didn't want to say anything snarky either, though, so he nodded.

"I'm glad too", he said simply, not knowing what else he should say.

"I don't want to die, but... Yeah, I'm glad I wasn't alone", Red said.

"Hey, don't start speaking in the past tense", Green warned, earning an apologetic look from his friend. Giving up, he shrugged.

Repressing a sigh, Green looked around. They were in a grassy, desolate area. It was peaceful, despite the fact that his best friend was dying right in front of him. Knowing that Red had taken his opportunity to admit what needed to be admitted, Green decided that there was no reason for him to hold back what he needed to say any longer. There was something important on his mind that he had planned on keeping from Red, but in these circumstances, it seemed much more important to say what needed to be said.

"Hey, Red. There's something I need to- Red?" Green said, looking down.

Red's eyes were half closed, but the pupils, which were still visible, seemed lifeless. His mouth was slightly agape, as if he was still trying to draw in a few last breaths. The most worrying thing was that his chest was no longer rising, no matter how long Green watched.

"Hey, Red. Come on, you're scaring me. Say something, or just _breathe. _Do something!" Green commanded, giving him a slight shake.

Red didn't reply. While Green was debating whether or not he should tell his best friend how he felt, he slipped away quietly. It was unknown to Green whether Red felt unbearable pain in his final moments, or if the pain finally began to ease up, but none of that was relevant now. Red had died, and that was the one solid fact.

"No way... This isn't happening. How could you, of all people_, _just _die_? Red, come on, do something", Green whispered, losing his edge. Not that he realized, but he had begun to tremble.

He felt as if there was a massive hole in his chest, even though reality had not sunk in. It was clear that the body he was holding held no life, but that had yet to sink in too. Green knew that if he survived this, it would never sink in that Red had actually died.

He pressed his forehead against Red's. Squeezing his eyes shut, he willed himself to cry. _This is one of the worst situations you could ever find yourself in. There's no reason why you shouldn't. _It had been many years since he had properly shed any tears, and felt no shame in the thought of doing so now.

No matter how much he wished to, he couldn't cry. Green simply sat there, in the quiet area, holding the body of his best friend.

**_20 Remaining._**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note: <strong>_I'm Originalshipping trash I'm so sorry-

I know it seemed surprising to kill off Red so early, but I needed a surprising early death. My poor fave was the sacrificial lamb. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	14. Chapter 14

"Good afternoon. Is everyone listening? It's now 12PM, so it's time for the next report."

Pryce's voice rang throughout the island, causing everyone to stop what they were doing. X, who had been moving away from the housing estate slowly, came to a stop, and stood still, listening closely to the reports.

"There haven't been as many deaths as last night, but still a good number, if you ask me. Now, here's the order of people who are no longer here: Participant number eleven, Hugh. Participant number four, Cheren. Participant number seventeen, Red. Keep up the good work.

"Now, the danger zones. At 1PM, D-2. At 3PM, C-3. At 5PM, A-7. We'll be back at 6, so be ready."

With that, Pryce switched off the intercom, and the island was silent once more. X took out his map from his jacket pocket, and began to mark off the future danger zones. He raised his pencil to mark off the newer names of the deceased, but found himself hesitating.

There were shaky lines drawn through Tierno's, Trevor's and Shauna's names. It was difficult to believe that this was his confirmation that three out of four of his friends were dead. X didn't cry when he heard that they were dead. He felt upset, certainly, but not nearly as upset as he expected to be.

When he left the school, he didn't attempt to look for anyone, but instead ran towards H-8 to hide in one of the houses. While X was hiding inside a house, three of his childhood friends were being murdered. Even after hearing about their deaths, he didn't feel any motivation to go find Y.

_I truly am a horrible human being. I never deserved any friends at all, _he thought as he continued to walk. A better friend would attempt to look for Y, or at least try to find his friends' killers. The problem was that X didn't feel like doing anything along those lines. He simply wanted to hide.

This is what he got for leaving his house. If his friends had left him alone, they would never have been put in this death game, and Shauna, Tierno and Trevor would still be alive. X was right about one thing; the outside world was a cruel place.

Sighing, he sat down for a moment, and opened his daypack. He saw the tip of his weapon, an icepick. Using it would require close combat, which he didn't want to partake in at all. Ignoring the weapon, X grabbed one of the bread rolls out of his bag, and took a few bites out of it. Zipping up his daypack once more, X continued to walk north.

He had no idea what to do. Almost as soon as he heard about partaking in the program, he didn't feel any desire to try and win. If he lost, he would die. If he won, the paparazzi would be worse than they ever were in the past, and X couldn't face that. What made it worse was that none of his friends would be there to help him. In the end, he might just end up killing himself to escape it all.

Committing suicide on this island crossed his mind several times. It would be the simplest thing to do. He would have no more thoughts of how despicable he was, or those small pangs of sorrow upon hearing about his friends' deaths. X figured it would be one of the most painless solutions too. One jump off a cliff, and it would be over. He would much prefer that than to die brutally and bloodily at the hands of a paranoid teenager.

For some reason, X couldn't bring himself to just go ahead and do that. Instead, he chose to wander the island aimlessly. He decided that he would wander up north for a while longer, and perhaps find a place to stay for a while. He needed time to think and clear his mind. What he would do after that was currently foggy in his mind.

For that moment, X just kept walking north.

* * *

><p>After Yellow had decided to stay with Ruby and Sapphire, they talked for quite a while. Yellow filled them in on how her night had been, and who she intended to find. Ruby and Sapphire both told their story, leaving out certain parts, considering it their own secret for the meantime.<p>

At around 11AM, Sapphire offered to climb the tree they were sitting under. Ruby had become hesitant about the idea, but she insisted, claiming that it would be better to spot enemies from a long distance. Both Ruby and Yellow agreed with her, and for that hour, she remained up in the tree, half-listening to their conversation, and half-watching the area she could see.

It had been a quiet hour. They mainly ate, talked about what they could do after meeting up with others, and Yellow's plans. It was disappointing to hear she planned to split from them at some stage, but Ruby internally agreed it was for the best. As much as he enjoyed spending time with his seniors, he would be unhappy if the final three were anyone other than himself, Sapphire and Emerald. He didn't want to reach the point where he would certainly have to fight Yellow to ensure Sapphire's survival.

The peaceful atmosphere was broken once the 12PM announcement started. No one knew who the first two were, but upon hearing Red's name in the announcement, Sapphire almost stumbled out of the tree. After he visited Hoenn, she always found him to be strong, and a part of her began to think he would be in the final five.

Of course, there was Yellow. She had told both of them that she intended to find Red, as he was her top priority. Sapphire couldn't be certain, but she began to think that Yellow saw Red the same way she saw Ruby. She couldn't begin to imagine what it would be like to simply hear from a random stranger that the person she loved had died, and decided to go down and check on Yellow. Lookout duty could wait.

After climbing down the tree trunk, she saw that Yellow had hidden her face in her hands. Small sobs could be heard from her, and Sapphire's sympathy towards her increased significantly. Before she could reach the bottom of the trunk, Ruby had put an arm around her shoulder, giving the girl a small little shake.

"I'm sorry, Yellow. Do you need me or Sapphire to do anything? We're here for you, I promise", he told her gently.

Sapphire landed on her feet, causing Ruby to look up. With his free hand, he patted the ground next to him. Sapphire understood his motion, and sat beside him, crossing her legs. She had no idea how to comfort Yellow, but considering Ruby seemed to be doing a decent job, she figured that she would sit back for now.

Yellow didn't respond for a few moments. She remained in the same position for quite some time, but neither of the two younger teenagers grew impatient. They couldn't begin to understand the extent of misery she was feeling, but they could understand that she needed time. Eventually, she did reply.

"Thank you, but... I think I need time alone. I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound rude, b-but-", Yellow attempted to explain, but was cut off short by another sob. She attempted to sound calm, but failed.

"It's okay. Sapphire and I want to find Emerald, anyway. Are you sure about this? Will you really be okay on your own?" Ruby asked firmly, still keeping his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah. We'll do whatever you want us to do", Sapphire added.

She was impressed by how mature Ruby sounded. He was clearly taking initiative in calming Yellow, and it was difficult to believe he was significantly younger. Sapphire understood why Ruby was cautious about leaving Yellow alone, but she also knew this wasn't the right time to try and fight with her. At that moment, she needed sympathy and compliance more than anything else.

"Thank you, really, but I do need time alone. I-I'm really sorry. I would have liked to have spent more time with you", Yellow said quietly, sounding genuinely apologetic.

Ruby nodded, and stood up. He held his hand out to Sapphire, who took it, and stood up too. Yellow kept her head down for another few seconds. Then, she raised her head, wiping her wet face. Her eyes were still brimming with tears, but she looked at both of them regardless of how she looked.

"Good luck. I don't know if we'll meet again, but I hope things go well for you both. I'm happy you found each other", Yellow said, her voice quivering at the last words.

_You two were able to do what I wasn't, _she thought. The young couple had found each other with ease, while she hadn't even attempted to look for Red. Yellow wanted to confess how she felt to him, and after meeting Ruby and Sapphire, she began to hope that they would be like how the younger couple were. That opportunity was gone, and that hurt her more than anything else ever did.

"You too. If you feel like looking for us, we'll be heading south to try and find some shelter", Ruby told her, before putting his hand on Sapphire's shoulder. They turned away, but after some contemplation, Sapphire looked back over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry about what happened. Whoever gets out of this thing alive will get revenge for what happened to him", she promised, hints of anger in her voice.

Yellow merely nodded. Sapphire looked at her for an extra few moments, before Ruby gave her shoulder a small shake. She turned back around, and the pair walked away, leaving Yellow alone. They both felt uncertain about the decision, but it was what the young girl wanted more than anything.

After they had left, Yellow remained in that position for a few minutes. She had no idea how she should cope with what she heard. _I need to calm down. That's the most important thing right now, _she thought. The only problem was that she didn't know how to do so.

After a few minutes of deliberation, she looked up at the tree that Sapphire had been previously sitting in. Putting both her hands on the tree trunk, she began to climb, and simply concentrated on the process until she reached a suitable location to sit.

She perched herself on the thick tree branch once more, pulling her daypack off her shoulders. Pushing aside the leaves, she looked out at what she could see from this view. Although it was bright, Yellow couldn't see anybody. The island looked serene, and like many others, she thought it was too much of a peaceful location to hold such a sinister game.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, but much to her relief, she had stopped sobbing. While the scene she was gazing at was calming, Yellow found that it wasn't enough. It felt like nothing would be enough at that rate, given how awful that report had been. One thing crossed her mind, but she was hesitant to do so. It could be incredibly risky, but it felt like the only thing that would take her mind off that nightmare.

Yellow let go of the smaller branch, causing the leaves to conceal the scene in front of her once more. She perched her back against the bark of the tree, and closed her eyes. Despite how hysterical she felt not so long ago, she found that sleep still came easily to her.

**_20 Remaining._**


	15. Chapter 15

Diamond's stomach growled once more. Wincing, he laid a hand over his stomach. He had eaten the last of his food supplies that morning, which, in retrospect, was probably a huge mistake. One minute, that half-loaf of bread had been there, and the next minute, it was gone. He wouldn't be the first to admit that he was awful at rationing food portions.

If he had known that he would have lived to hear two announcements, Diamond thought that he possibly would have managed his food better. He knew that he had a high chance of dying compared to the others, but he had accepted that before he left the classroom. If he died, then that meant Pearl's and Platinum's chances of living increased. That didn't sound so bad, according to him. All he hoped was that when the time did come, it would be quick and painless.

Another growl came from his stomach. Diamond let out a small groan and laid down in the hay. He had chosen to stay in a barn that was marked on the map, in sector E-6. There weren't any Pokemon inside, leading him to believe that the barn had been abandoned prior to the island evacuation for the program. There wasn't any food left, but even if there was, Diamond was certain it wouldn't be edible for humans.

_Am I really going to die of starvation?, _he thought as the pangs in his stomach became painful. He frowned. He didn't know much about dying, but he could guess that starving to death would be incredibly painful. Luckily, it hadn't reached any severe stages, as he ate the last of his food at 9AM. He decided that he should be okay for another while.

Just as he was contemplating looking around once more for food, he heard footsteps approach. The first thing Diamond saw through the doorway was the gleam of a blade, causing him to squirm back further into the hay. This was soon followed by a long, wooden handle, and he quickly identified it as a sickle. His fear changed into overwhelming joy when he saw who owned the sickle.

Platinum poked her head in the large doorway, to see if it was safe to go in. The first thing she noted was that there was no blood, meaning nobody had died inside. The second thing she noticed was that there _was _somebody in there, and he was well and alive.

"Missy!" Diamond exclaimed, standing up and jogging over to her.

"Diamond, you're okay! I'm so glad!" Platinum replied with equal enthusiasm.

As he stood in front of her, it looked as if he wanted to do something to show how glad he was, like giving her a friendly hug. Instead, after a moment of deliberation, he placed his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Regardless of the lack of contact, they both were simply relieved to have met each other.

"Umm... Pearl came out before you. Have you seen him? I hoped we could all team up. We always make a pretty great team, don't we?" he asked. She shook her head, causing Diamond to frown.

"Unfortunately, I didn't. When I left the school, he was nowhere in sight... I was hoping he would wait too. I don't blame Pearl for leaving, though. Those two older men left right before him. It must have been awful to think they'd be waiting outside to..." Platinum began to explain, but bit her lip, not wanting to think about what could have happened if he stayed. Instead, she smiled again. "At least we found each other."

"Yeah. I understand too, but I'm glad we found each other as well", Diamond replied calmly, smiling back at her.

They stood there for a few more seconds, before he let out a small sound, and then covered his face with his hands. Loud, muffled sobs could be heard, causing Platinum to drop her sickle out of surprise. She lightly touched Diamond's shoulder. She knew that whenever he cried, it was always messy and loud, no matter what he cried over, but it still caught her off guard each time.

"Diamond? Is everything okay?" she asked. He raised his head, showing his face was now a teary, snotty mess, but he nodded.

"Y-Yeah. I'm just happy you're safe. I-I was worried about you and Pearl", he mumbled, attempting to wipe his face. Platinum smiled, relieved.

"So am I. Shall we go inside? You choose a nice place to hide", Platinum commented, picking up her sickle and entering the barn.

Diamond quickly followed. He gave his face another quick wipe, looking around the area once more. It still felt far too big for two people, but it would be better to have too much space than too little. He noticed that Platinum was walking over towards the spot where he had left his bag, and she laid hers down too. She put the sickle on top of it, and sat down on the haystack.

Platinum watched as he walked over, edging slightly away from his previous spot. His face had gone slightly red, causing her to suppress a giggle. It felt like they had so much to talk to each other about, but neither knew what to say. They stared at the opposite wall for a while, before she spoke once more.

"What weapon were you assigned?" she asked curiously, leaning over.

"Oh, umm... This", Diamond mumbled, after rummaging around in his daypack.

He pulled out a small little orange bottle. There seemed to be a whitish powder inside. On the bottle was a little label, which read "Potassium Cyanide". While it wouldn't work in a proper battle, it would be ideal with strategizing. If a tiny dose was inserted into someone's food, they would die immediately due to poisoning. In that light, it made an elusive, highly dangerous weapon.

"Is that sickle your weapon?" Diamond asked, causing Platinum to snap out of her thoughts.

"Ah, yes, it is. I hope I won't have to use it, though", she said, frowning at the weapon lying on top of her bag.

Diamond was about to offer her words of reassurance, when his stomach grumbled once more, this time much louder. Platinum glanced at him for a moment, and then raised her eyebrows.

"Diamond, did you already finish off your assigned food?" she asked. After spending two years around him, she knew how quickly he could polish off any amount of food.

Frowning, Diamond put his hands on his knees and nodded. He felt too embarrassed to look her in the eye, but when he confirmed that he did eat that much food, he wasn't met with scolding. Instead, Platinum laughed lightly, and he heard her rummaging through her daypack.

When he looked up again, she was holding out a bag full of decent-looking food. While they didn't look spectacular, they looked much more appetizing than the government assigned bread rolls. He grinned, looking up at Platinum.

"I thoroughly searched the house I stayed in before I left. They kept a lot of food stocked, and I thought you would need it more than they would, right now", she explained, sounding proud of herself.

Thanking her quickly, Diamond then reached out to grab a box of chocolate treats, which laid on top of the pile. Platinum's hand shot out, quickly restraining his.

"We have to ration our portions. You get to have three of these. I would like you to have more, but it _is _important we don't starve, isn't it?" she told him, first sounding firm, then apologetic.

Diamond had no objections. After his earlier fears of dying of starvation alone in a barn, it was much better to be eating just a little bit of food, alongside one of his best friends. Things were definitely looking much better.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Silver. Wake up."<p>

After Gold had given his abrupt command, Silver let out a small mumble, and opened his eyes. His arms were still wrapped around his assigned weapon, an aluminum baseball bat. Silver had no idea why he decided to keep the weapon with him as he slept, considering anyone could have easily killed him while he was sleeping out in the open.

Putting aside those thoughts, he sat up. The first thing he saw was that Gold had an serious expression on his face, and had his arms folded. The second thing Silver did was check his watch. 12:08PM. _Shit. I've missed the report. If he looks like that, does that mean Blue... No, don't start thinking like that now!, _he thought.

"What happened?" Silver asked, and after some hesitation, "Who died?"

"Three people are dead. Two of those juniors we never met, Cheren and Hugh... Red's gone", Gold said, furrowing his brows at the last part.

Silver raised his eyebrows. Although he never got to know Red as well as he knew Blue, or even Green, he was perfectly aware of the strength he had. He was strong enough to defeat Giovanni more than once, which earned him a lot of respect from Silver. Hearing about his death was a massive surprise, but he quickly set aside his reeling shock.

He knew that out of all his seniors, Gold had been closest to Red. They both usually acted before they thought, but had some of the best morals. It was only natural to assume Gold was upset over his senior's death, but Silver had no idea how to properly comfort him.

"Are you okay?" he asked slowly.

"Yeah, I guess. It's going to get worse from here on out, but it does still hurt. I like our seniors, but he was always the greatest. We got along really well too. I used to think he was invincible, and the best trainer out there. But if Red, of all people, can die, what does that mean for me? For you and Kris and-" Gold said, but was cut off short by Silver grabbing his shoulders.

"Everyone on this island contains some degree of amazing strength, us included. If we didn't, we wouldn't have been brought here. Don't give up because one of our seniors died before we did. We're still here, and we're not giving up. Do you understand?" he told him firmly and clearly.

Silver almost scoffed at himself. It had only been the night before that he had been considering throwing himself off a cliff, so he could hardly go around calling himself strong. Also, it felt so wrong to just casually refer to the fact that one of their seniors was truly dead. People were dying all over this island, and it had yet to truly sink in that these people would never return.

"Anyway, is this area going to become a danger zone soon?" Silver asked in a weak attempt to change the subject.

"No, but another area in the A sector is going to be. We should get moving", Gold suggested.

Silver nodded. The both picked up their daypacks, and kept their assigned weapons in their free hands, and continued walking. Their walk was a silent one. Neither of them wanted to reflect on the events that had taken place so far, and it didn't feel appropriate to try and start up lighthearted conversations either.

When they passed the clinic, Silver thought of raising his voice to suggest hiding in there for a while, but as Gold walked on ahead, the opportunity was lost. Emerald didn't spot them inside, as he was rooting through his bag for his bread rolls.

They continued down south, until they were able to hear the cawing of Wingulls in the distance. Gold realized that they were coming close to the beach. He stopped, taking a minute to look around. There was definitely a salty smell in the air, although they were still on grassy terrain. The atmosphere down in this area felt more relaxed than it did in the north.

Something caught his eye in the distance as he was looking around, though. Although he wasn't able to make the person out too clearly, Gold was able to tell the person had a black jacket on, spiky hair, and was currently kneeling on the ground, holding something.

"Hey, Silver. Is that Green?" Gold asked, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice upon finding another person he knew.

Before Silver could answer, Gold ran towards Green. This brought Silver back to his senses, and he quickly ran after his friend. Before the black-haired boy could shout out, the younger of the two pressed his palm over his mouth, muffling any sound he was going to make.

"He'll run off if you yell at him", Silver hissed, causing Gold to let out an annoyed huff.

Silver let go of him, wiping his hand on his jeans. The two boys walked towards Green, trying to make sure their footsteps could be heard. As they came closer, Gold's previously happy attitude quickly vanished. Up closer, it was clear that the thing their senior was holding was a body. Judging by the blue jeans that were visible, it was Red's.

As Gold was trying to keep his cool, Silver picked up the pace. He had spotted the body too, and a brief, horrific thought crossed his mind; Green had killed Red. He quickly dismissed the thought, knowing as well as anyone else did that Green would never do such a thing, no matter how much he bickered with Red.

When they were close enough to him, they both spared each other a look of confusion. Green kept his head down, as if he didn't notice them. Chances were that he didn't. Seeing no other way to get his attention, Silver prodded his shoulder with the tip of the baseball bat. No response.

"Oh, fuck, don't tell me he's dead too, Silver, don't tell me he's-" Gold began to moan, but Silver quickly shushed him.

Still holding onto the baseball bat, he crouched down beside his senior, getting a proper look at his face. Green's eyes were transfixed on Red's face, and their was a look of dread and terror visible on his own face. After observing him for a few minutes, Silver heard him breathe softly, proving that he was still alive.

Slowly, Silver pressed his fingers on the bottom of Green's chin, and raised his head. That caused the older of the two to blink several times. He looked at Silver with wide eyes, as if he had been completely oblivious to the nudge he received from the baseball bat. Silver didn't move his fingers, concerned that if he did move them, Green's head would drop right back down.

"Did you kill him?" Silver asked, indicating to Red's body. Gold looked like he was about to protest, when Green suddenly responded.

"No", he replied, sounding much more calm than he looked.

Despite his calm tone, Silver knew he wasn't lying. In the older boy's current state, lying was a very slim possibility, especially in a calm tone. Besides, he knew Green would never attempt to kill Red, of all people. Although it was a risk to trust him on such limited knowledge, Silver was willing to. With that decided, he turned to Gold.

"Help lift the body onto the grass", he instructed.

While the two boys expected Green to protest, he said nothing. Gold crouched down as well, and lifted the body out of Green's arms. After glancing at Red's face for a brief second, he winced and let the body drop into the grass. After a moment of consideration, he crossed Red's arms over his chest, closed his slightly ajar mouth, as well as his eyes. It made him look somewhat more peaceful, despite the gaping stab wound in his midsection.

Throughout the process, Silver remained by Green, observing the scene. It had gone much more peacefully than any of them anticipated, but Green's non-responsive attitude was beginning to scare Gold and Silver. _Of course he's like this, _Silver thought, _He witnessed this up close. It's going to leave a mark._

"Gold and I are allies. We want to form an alliance with all the Kanto and Johto Dexholders", Silver explained, helping Green to his feet.

"What? I don't get a say in that matter?" Green replied quietly. Even though his tone was weak, it was still a shock to hear him say more than one word.

"Are you kidding? We're not leaving you here. You've obviously been here long enough", Gold protested, joining them.

"I know I have. I did want to join you, but I needed to see how determined you were to form an alliance with me."

Although Green still had a shaky, weaker tone, it was clear that he was attempting to move forward, at least. While Silver and Gold were both surprised by how quickly he was able to recollect himself to that extent, neither of them were complaining.

"Where are we going, anyway?" he asked.

"No idea. Let's just get as far away from here as possible", Gold muttered, glancing back at Red's body one last time. Silver didn't miss that Green copied his action too.

**_20 Remaining._**


	16. Chapter 16

After running for quite some time, White finally sat down. She clutched at her side, gasping. As someone who was more used to walking, it had taken a lot of energy out of her to run that long. Even though she was still out in the open, and would have much preferred to be in a sheltered location, it felt like she was safe.

As she tried to catch her breath, White thought of Black once more. The numbers of contestants from Unova were narrowing down drastically. Both of Black's childhood friends were dead, and one of Cheren's students, Hugh, had died recently. It worried her. If this trend kept up, then that meant Rakutsu, Faitsu, Black, or even White herself would be dead before 6PM. She couldn't help but wonder if Black was in a similar state of mind.

White had been worried about him for hours now. Losing two of his childhood friends in the span of twelve hours was a hard thing for anybody to cope with. If they had met up, she could have comforted him, and helped him through it. They could have helped each other. White could have formed a realistic plan to see them through, and Black could have fought his way through. She was certain that, if they were together, they would make it to the end.

That didn't happen, though. Since they were called out so far apart, there was no way they would have been able to meet outside the classroom. She hoped he would have waited, but he wasn't anywhere in sight.

_Please be safe, Black. I know this is a tough time for you, but don't lose your mind, _White thought, scratching at her neck. Her fingers briefly made contact with the metal, and she drew them back to her side.

"White."

She was quickly brought out of her thoughts by a calm voice calling her name. It took her a moment to register who it was, but once she matched the voice to a face, she prayed that she had misheard. Slowly, she looked up, dread rising inside her.

The first thing she saw was his long, green hair, and white shirt. Her eyes moved upwards, and confirmed her fears. N was standing close by. He had a calm, almost bored, expression. More importantly, he was holding a gun.

Regardless of how much her side hurt moments ago, White picked up her daypack once more and ran. She knew one thing for certain; she needed to get out of there as soon as possible. Her past experiences with N had been horrible, and out of everyone on the island, he was the last person she wanted to see.

Behind her, she heard footsteps rapidly gain on her. White wanted to scream. She wanted Black to find her right then, and take care of N for her. _Anything _to get him away from her. No matter how much she wished, Black didn't appear. Instead, she was greeted with one hand landing on her shoulder, and roughly pulling her back.

"_No! No! Let me go! I don't want to be anywhere near you!" _she screamed, kicking her legs backward. They hit nothing but air.

N turned her around, putting his other hand on her free shoulder. The gun had been inserted into his belt. While he still looked calm, she didn't miss the hint of annoyance on his face. White had pissed him off, and she didn't even want to think about what the price would be for doing that.

"Stop that! Listen to me right now. I have to talk to you, and if you won't listen, I have no choice but to kill you", he told her firmly.

_He wants to talk to me...?, _she thought, feeling an odd sense of relief. She still didn't want to listen to him, but knowing that he didn't want to kill her off so easily was incredibly relieving.

"I'll listen to what you have to say. But first, you have to let me go", she replied, with equal firmness.

"That won't do. What if you try to run again?" N asked stubbornly.

"You have a gun, don't you? You could easily kill me if I try to run. I'll stay and listen", White told him. More than anything, she wanted to show her position as a leader, and that she could make her own demands too.

Complying, N released her shoulders. She continued to stand there. Once he let go, White discovered that she had been trembling out of pure fear. In an attempt to make the shaking subside, she clenched her hands into fists, trying to control her body.

"I remember you, White. I brought you with me that day on the ferris wheel. I gave Bubu the choice of joining me and learning how to battle, or staying with you and remaining in the entertainment industry. She chose me. I believe that event left a rather large impact on you. One of my grunts later informed me of what happened after Bubu left your side", N began, pausing briefly.

He looked at White, almost waiting for her to explain what happened. She continued to stare at him, but she lacked the previous strength she had shown. Being reminded of that event had brought back horrible memories, as she had nearly lost herself that day. White knew that if she attempted to talk, her voice would be as shaky as her body was.

"You briefly gave up your tasks as President of the BW Agency to learn how to battle. You wanted to hear your own Pokemon's voices, and understand their feelings. When I heard about what you did, I was touched", he told her, "You did exactly what I wanted you to do."

"I wanted understand what Bubu wanted, exactly. That was all", White mumbled. N seemed to ignore her, or not even hear her.

"There are very few people on this island who I would want to ally with. Many of them of them are the exact type of people Team Plasma has fought against for years. White, you're one of the few exceptions. Your friend, Black, is not. I have observed your closeness to that person, and I have no doubts you thought of becoming his ally. Am I mistaken?" he asked.

White blinked, still reeling from what he said. One minute, she was positive he was going to kill her, and the next, he was asking to form an alliance with her. She could have sworn he hated her nearly as much as he despised Black.

"You're not mistaken", White mumbled, looking downwards.

"As I thought. I cannot ally with Black, and I assume you know why. Join me, and I will keep you safe until the very end. My one condition is that, if you come out victorious, that you join Team Plasma. If you do not comply with that, my father will kill you. I trust you won't disobey, considering your previous desire to understand your Pokemon's wishes. You're like us. You put your Pokemon's desires before your own, making you far less sinful than the others on this island. You would make a decent winner."

"I..."

"I'm not done. If you choose not to ally with me, I will treat you as I would treat any other contestant. Your decision against me will prove that I was mistaken about you. It'll prove you're not any better than Black, or anybody else on this island", N continued, his voice far too calm, "The choice is yours."

White could hardly believe what she was hearing. N wanting to ally with her came off as a large enough shock, considering how he treated her like vermin in the past. Also, the very idea of surviving and joining Team Plasma sounded hellish. _So, my choice is to either die at his hands, or survive and join a villainous organization, _she thought, wincing. Either way, she was doomed.

"White. I'm waiting for your answer", N said.

White blinked a few times, and looked the older man in the eyes. She knew her next answer could have dire consequences for her, regardless of whether or not she found Black. One thing she was certain of was that her resolution was the only one she felt happy with, no matter what her fate would be.

"I won't ally with you. I'd rather take any danger that comes my way on this island before I betray Black and join Team Plasma", she stated firmly.

She surprised herself, but felt proud of her assertiveness. Ever since she heard what they would be brought to do in this game, she had felt terrified, and yet she was able to stand up to N so defiantly. It was moments like those that she remembered how she became so successful at such a young age.

"You're certain of your decision?" N asked.

"Absolutely."

He let out a sigh. White was tempted to take her opportunity to run, but figured he had more to say. She figured it would be a warning of sorts, maybe a chance to run. Instead, he laid his hands gently on her cheeks, catching her off guard. His touch was gentle, suiting his calm demeanor.

"Such a disappointing decision. I kind of liked you a little, White", N said, with a small sigh.

White stared at him, in an incredulous state. He _liked _her? That wasn't possible. He had a clear distaste for her. Not as strong as the distaste he had for Black, but the distaste was still there. She didn't even know in what context he meant that, but her confusion was causing her frustration to build up, and more than anything, she wanted him to release her.

Before she could demand N to let go of her, his hands moved up to her temples, where his grip became much rougher. A look of mixed anger and annoyance crossed his face, and White knew immediately the situation was dangerous. His grip was too strong on her head, though.

She didn't get a chance to struggle. He moved her head upwards, and for a moment, White saw the clear sky. Then, N snapped her head to the right at a quick speed, and he heard a small crack from her neck. He let go of White's head, which hung at a strange angle. Her eyes were closed, but he couldn't be sure whether or not she felt any pain in her final moments. All he was sure of was the fact that she was dead, and that was what mattered the most.

He released her at last, and White's body dropped limply. A part of N was proud that she barely saw it coming, but another part of him was slightly disappointed she said no. While he wasn't very fond of her, he wasn't lying about holding her in higher respects than many others on the island.

_It's her loss, in the end, _N thought, looking at the body for a few more moments. Then, he stood up and left the sector, leaving behind the latest participant to exit the game.

**_19 Remaining._**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note: <em>**I wasn't planning on having some light Ferriswheelshipping in this, but things happened.

Anyway, the next few chapters will be devoted to building up characters and group bonds, so please bear with me for a while! I should be able to write them quickly enough. Thank you!


	17. Chapter 17

Lance had been walking for quite a while. Shortly after killing Cheren, he had discovered Hugh's body, only to find he had no weapon. However, judging by the fact that there was a hatchet stuck in his body, it was only natural to assume that Cheren had killed Hugh with his own hatchet, and taken the other boy's assigned weapon, the revolver.

The revolver was now in Lance's possession, tallying up his gun total to two. He decided the Derringer would be his main weapon, but he certainly wasn't complaining about having a backup weapon. Despite having a good range of weapons at that point, Lance had decided that his main goal for that afternoon would be to find as many discarded weapons as possible.

Of course, if he ran into anybody, he would take care of them. Other than that, he decided he wouldn't be actively seeking to narrow down the competition.

After walking a little further east, he raised his eyebrows. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw green, bushy hair disappear into the shrubbery. While Lance wasn't disappointed that he missed N, he was anxious about whether or not N had beaten him to taking any more weapons from dead bodies.

Walking a little further ahead, Lance thought his suspicions were confirmed. On the ground was a discarded body of a girl with dark brown hair, raised in a ponytail. He noted how her head was at an odd angle, which led him to believe her neck had been snapped. _A quick, painless death. Is N the type of person to put people out of their misery quickly?, _he mused.

Pushing that aside, he looked at the daypack next to her. It was open. Kneeling down, he thought it would be worth checking for weapons. At first, all he saw were the usual contents. After pushing the rolls aside, however, he thought he came across even more rolls, but realized they felt too plastic to be edible.

Pulling out the two items he had laid his hands upon, Lance discovered they were black, oval shapes, with little tags on the top. The girl's assigned weapon had been a pair of grenades, and for some reason, N hadn't taken them. _Did he really leave them out for me to take?, _he thought, feeling a little confused.

Nevertheless, he put the two grenades into his own daypack, thankful to have more weapons. He didn't know what he would do with them just yet, but he figured that they could come in handy at some point in the program. It surprised him that N didn't think they would. _Then again, he could have gotten a much better weapon than a pair of grenades. _

"Thank you anyway, N", Lance muttered to himself as he walked away from White's body. It began to occur to him that he and N were strangely acting as allies, despite their pact on the first night. Lance didn't have any objections. Having various weapons scattered around was a definitely bonus.

* * *

><p>Ever since the 12PM announcement, Pearl had been hiding inside a house. Ironically enough, he returned to the sector where he encountered Red, but chose a different house this time. Luckily, no one was inside, giving him time to be alone with his thoughts.<p>

Hearing Red's name on the announcement had driven him into a hysterical state. It was his fault. For all Pearl knew, all the other deaths before that point had been committed by N or Lance, and now, _he _was on that list of killers. He was just as bad as they were. Red had tried to reason with him, to calm him down, and yet Pearl still ended up stabbing him.

He didn't deserve Dia's or Platinum's trust. His intuition told him that they hadn't even considered killing, and it was doubtful if they even would in self defense. Pearl, despite being part of the trio, had completely went against that mindset. Why should he be deserve to meet with his two closest friends after what he did?

"What the hell do I _do?" _Pearl moaned to himself, burying his head into his knees once more.

He had remained in a huddled position ever since he had entered the house. Without a weapon, Pearl felt the best thing to do was to make himself as hidden as possible. Hell, it didn't even matter that he didn't have a weapon. He had decided that if somebody entered the house with the intention of killing, he no longer cared. Besides, he _did _tell Red that the more people that died, the chances of either Dia or Platinum living increased.

Thinking of his two friends caused him to calm down a little. Neither of them had been on the reports so far, and although he had no clue what sort of state they were in, he liked to imagine that they were safe. He even hoped that they were able to find a brief moment of bliss, even if he wasn't there to share it with them. Thinking of Dia and Platinum being safe was one of the most calming thoughts that came to mind.

Pearl wanted to meet them again. That was what he wanted more than anything, but he had already made his resolution clear. For murdering an innocent person, he would bear his punishment, and deny himself the only thing that would make him happy in this horrid situation.

* * *

><p>Faitsu had kept the gun by her side as she ran after encountering Pearl. After seeing his panicked reaction, she knew that her chances of scaring away the others were high. That brought on a sense of relief, and she decided that getting such a powerful weapon was definitely a bonus.<p>

As she continued to jog at a light pace, she held the gun in front of her, trying to examine it. It looked much less complicated to operate than a weapon such as a pistol, but she had no idea just how powerful it was. Given how light she was on her feet, she began to worry that it would be powerful enough to knock her off her feet if she tried to fire it. The last thing she wanted in that kind of scenario was to make herself defenseless.

Faitsu's thoughts about the gun were brought to an abrupt stop when she felt her body collide with something. She stumbled backwards, uttering a small cry. At first, she thought she bumped into something like a tree, but then she heard a light "Oof". Looking up, she quickly pointed the gun at the other person, observed who it was, and then lowered the gun slightly.

"Rakutsu?" she murmured.

Her classmate, and her companion on the trip, looked up. Rakutsu was previously brushing himself down, but froze upon hearing Faitsu's voice. He grinned, and raised his hand in a casual wave, but it was impossible to miss the absolute delight on his face. During his journey, he found himself becoming closer to Faitsu, so finding her in these circumstances were both relieving and wonderful.

"Faitsu! You're okay!" he exclaimed.

Despite how happy he sounded, Faitsu was still tentative about being around him. She couldn't deny that she had become closer to him than anybody else in the class, but she barely thought about him before the moment they ran into each other. Despite their growing friendship, she highly doubted she would give up her life for him, as she would for N's sake.

Putting aside her doubtful thoughts, she mustered a smile, and brought the gun back to her side. Faitsu walked over to him, attempting to put everything out of her mind to simply go with the flow. Even she had to admit that, out of everyone on the island, Rakutsu ranked high on her list of people she would trust.

"I am. Are you okay, too?" she asked quietly. He nodded, causing his wild hair to bounce up and down.

"Yeah! I mean, as well as I can be. You heard that announcement at twelve, didn't you?" Rakutsu muttered, looking down at the ground.

_Ah, the 12PM announcement. Hugh's name was on it... He didn't seem that bad, _Faitsu thought, _But I feel no sympathy for Cheren. If it wasn't for him, I might have never ended up in this game. I never wanted a Pokedex, and yet he gave me one. How can I forgive him for that?_

"I'm sorry about what happened to Hugh... I think he would have wanted you to win, though. I haven't been around you two very long, but I think he did care about you", Faitsu said, in an attempt to comfort Rakutsu. It appeared to work, even a little, as the other boy raised his head, smiling once more.

"Thanks, Faitsu. I'm sure he would have wanted you to stay safe too. Like you said, you haven't been here long, but I think he was beginning to like you too."

"W-Wait, what?"

"Not like that! Believe me, if he had a crush on you, I would've gotten you two together a _long _time ago", Rakutsu said, winking at her.

That caused Faitsu to blush, and clench her free hand into a fist. She briefly looked away from Rakutsu, but he gained her attention again quickly. He laid his hand over her own, causing her face to turn redder, but then realized he didn't touch her hand to flirt with her. Looking down, she noticed the hand he had touched was the one curled around the Ingram. _Why am I misreading everything today? This is embarrassing._

"This is your weapon?" Rakutsu asked, astounded. Faitsu nodded.

She lifted it up to allow him to get a better look at it. He looked at it in awe, nodding slowly. Then, he looked back at her, grinning once more. In her opinion, he looked far too happy about seeing a machine gun.

"Faitsu, we have the perfect combination of offense and defense! That gun has to be the most powerful weapon on this island, and I was given the best possible object to defend myself!" he explained excitedly.

"You did? What is it?" she asked curiously, leaning in closer.

With that, Rakutsu began to remove his shirt, causing Faitsu to let out a small cry and cover her eyes. She heard him fiddling with something, and identified it as the sound of something being undone. Before she could think about what he was doing, she felt something being pushed towards her.

"Hey, uncover your eyes. I have a shirt on, I promise", he said.

Faitsu brought her hands down from her eyes. Once she did, Rakutsu placed something into her arms. When she looked down, she identified it as a type of thick, grey vest. She had quickly formed an idea about what it was, but looked up at Rakutsu to explain.

"It's a Kevlar Vest, or a bulletproof vest. It'll protect you from any shots to the torso. People with guns tend to aim for that section most often, so there's a strong possibility it'll keep you safe. With an Ingram and a bulletproof vest, you're nearly guaranteed to survive any attacks", he explained, his tone suddenly serious.

For a moment, Faitsu contemplated asking him why he knew so much about this topic. Even though she always thought he was rather smart, he was still only thirteen years old. There was only so much someone his age should know about this topic. She quickly pushed her suspicions away, and looked up at him again.

"Who should take care of the weapons?" she asked.

"You should. If there are people who've decided to kill, and they see us as a pair, they're going to aim for you first. They'll naturally assume you're weaker, so killing you first would stun me, the supposed stronger of the two, and making me an easy target. So, with a bulletproof vest on, we'll avoid that happening. Understand?" Rakutsu told her.

Faitsu nodded. She thought that it was still a risk for Rakutsu to let go of the bulletproof vest, considering he could still get shot first, but she wasn't going to complain. If she died, no one would look out for N, if he needed someone to. She couldn't let herself die that easily with that goal in mind.

"Um, can you turn around?" she mumbled, holding up the bulletproof vest.

Rakutsu let out a small snicker, but turned around anyway. Feeling slightly exposed as she removed her shirt, Faitsu laid the bulletproof vest over her normal vest. As she was about to put her shirt back on, her eyes fell upon her locket, which was dangling over the Kevlar Vest. _Don't forget who deserves to survive above everyone else, _she reminded herself as she put her shirt back on.

Once Faitsu let him know it was okay to turn around again, Rakutsu nodded, briefly facing her.

"Alright! So, let's get moving. How do you feel about trying to go down south?" he asked.

"That sounds fine by me", she agreed.

With that, the newly formed allies began to walk down south. As they walked, Faitsu could faintly hear the locket rubbing against the Kevlar Vest that Rakutsu had provided her with.

**_19 Remaining._**


	18. Chapter 18

About twenty minutes after Gold, Silver and Green officially became allies, they found a place to settle. It was an isolated area in the north-west, in sector B-10. It was sheltered by shrubbery and the occasional tree, making it rather insignificant, and a place that not many people would gather to.

The journey to B-10 had been completely silent. Gold had been thinking of something he could say to start up appropriate conversation, but nothing felt right. Green found the silence peaceful, and decided there was no chance he would complain about it. Silver quickly arrived at the conclusion that Green would prefer not to talk, so he made no attempt to think of anything to say.

Gold immediately plopped down, and stretched his arms out. Silver and Green sat down on either side of him, watching the more talkative of the three perform his actions. After he finished stretching, Gold glanced between them, trying to figure out what to say.

"Hey, what's your weapon, anyway? You never showed us", Gold pointed out, turning to Green.

With that said, Green reached into his daypack, rummaged around for a few seconds, and pulled out the tracker. Gold furrowed his brows at it, trying to figure out what kind of weapon that could serve as. Green explained its purpose to the two boys, who then proceeded to nod in understanding.

"So it can be used to let us know in advance if someone's coming?" Silver inquired, taking a closer look at the tracker.

"It could be, I suppose. The only problem is that it doesn't tell you who's coming. You can either hope that it's someone you want to ally with, or you can run in case it's an enemy", Green replied.

"That's annoying", Gold mumbled.

"Agreed. Speaking of allies, who exactly do you want to recruit?"

"We said that we wanted to find the Kanto Dexholders and Kris, didn't we? Well, maybe the others from Hoenn too."

"Is there anybody that takes top priority, though? I'm assuming you'd want to find Kris the most. Silver, I take it Blue ranks high on your list, and right now, she's the one contestant I'll be happiest to ally with too."

"Huh?! Why're you saying Kris ranks the highest on my list?!" Gold exclaimed, becoming flustered.

"Well, you don't get along with Blue as well as Green and I do, so it's only natural to assume you'd want to find Kris, considering how close we are to her. Why are you getting so defensive?" Silver asked calmly.

"I'm not getting defensive!"

"Of course not. So, that makes Blue and Kris our top priorities, then?"

Gold looked like he wanted to protest against Silver's first sarcastic sentence, but decided to keep quiet. Silver had pulled his map out of his pocket, and circled two of the names listed, putting particular emphasis on the first name. Gold copied his actions.

As they marked Blue's and Crystal's names, Silver glanced over at Green. He was absentmindedly watching the tracker, his finger positioned on the switch to turn it on and off. Silver knew that it would be likely that this constant changing behaviour would be continuous, but he had no idea how to properly comfort him. After a few seconds, he shoved his map back into his pocket, and looked over at his senior.

"Are you trying to forget what happened?" Silver questioned.

Gold looked at him with a confused expression, trying to figure out why he would bring up such a heavy subject. He didn't protest against his friend's sudden question, though, and instead looked over at the older boy to see what he would say. Several seconds passed. Green then put his tracker on the ground, the screen black. He looked over at Silver.

"Honestly? Barely anything that's happened has registered. I always thought we were untouchable compared to other trainers, especially since we avoided death so many times. But then _this _came along, and everyone's dropping like flies. I don't know the majority of people who died so far, but it hasn't even sunken in that they died yet. My best friend died in my arms, and even I haven't registered he's gone yet.

"I don't usually like being in a state of denial, but I have no idea how I'll react when all of this truly sinks in. So, if it keeps me sane for now, I'll stay in this state of denial. If that means I have to forget about what happened to Red, I'll try to do that", Green explained.

Silver did agree that being in a state of denial was an awful idea, but he couldn't bring himself to protest. He knew that if he had been in Green's shoes, he would have much preferred to have entered a state of denial than unbearable sorrow. That way, he could keep moving forward. Survival was the most important thing in this game, and each of the three boys knew that there wasn't any time for mourning when your life could be at risk at any moment.

"What about when we found you? You didn't look like you were exactly in a state of denial", Gold interjected.

"I don't know what was running through my mind during that time, to be perfectly honest. Right after he died, it felt like my mind entered some kind of blank state. I don't even know if I was mourning, or in a deep state of denial before you two came along."

Gold and Silver looked over at each other. While neither of them were strangers to sorrow and trauma, it scared them to think what it would be like in that frame of mind in a life-or-death scenario. At that moment, they both began to fear how they would react if the people they cared about the most died.

Green observed the two boys exchange worried looks, and realized he had said too much. The last thing he wanted to do was worry them, considering it was best to stay alert and calm during the program. He decided to move away from the heavy topic of coping with dead friends. In a quick attempt, he tried to move on to the most easygoing subject he could think of.

"Have either of you eaten today?" he asked, reaching into his own daypack and pulling out one of the rolls, which had very few bites out of it.

"I didn't", Silver said. He didn't see any point in lying.

"I ate while he was sleeping. I say I'll be alright for another while", Gold added.

He decided to leave out the fact that he had barely eaten anything either. Ever since the morning announcement, he didn't have much of an appetite. It was difficult to think of eating when he had no idea if Kris was okay or not.

"Well, try eating more", Green instructed.

Neither of them touched their bags. The older of the three was about to tell them again, but looking at his own roll, he realized that eating sounded like the least appealing thing in the world to him. It didn't help that he could still smell the stench of blood from earlier, which made him feel queasy. Giving up on trying to make the atmosphere a little lighter, Green shoved the bread roll back into his daypack.

* * *

><p>It had been a little while since Ruby and Sapphire had left Yellow. They didn't feel any need to run. After seeing her reaction to the announcement, they both felt too drained to do so. It had been an emotional morning, and both of them silently decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to take things easy.<p>

They didn't speak for quite a while. Then, as Ruby continued walking, Sapphire came to a stop. It took him a few seconds to notice that he no longer heard a second pair of footsteps, and turned around. He ran back to Sapphire, worried that something had happened.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess. Can we stop walking for a while?" she requested. Ruby nodded.

With that, Sapphire sat on the ground, twisting the knife in her hands, which was still in its sheath. Ruby sat down beside her, staring at the knife as well for several seconds. After those seconds passed, she dropped the knife into her lap, and laid her head on Ruby's shoulder. The action caught the older boy off guard, and almost leapt. It was a pleasant sensation, and he didn't want to ruin the moment.

"Do you think Yellow's still upset?" she muttered, already knowing the answer.

"I think so. She admired Red a lot, from what I could see", he replied.

"I guessed that much", Sapphire said. She hesitated before speaking again. "Her reaction to hearing his name in the announcement got me thinking."

She waited for him to reply to that, but he remained quiet. Glancing up at him, Sapphire noticed that he was watching her intently, curious to see what she had to say.

"I don't know what I'd do if you died. The last thing I want to do is end up in the same way Yellow is, so you have to do your best to live. Promise me you'll do that", she said, her tone stern.

"What if it comes down to you and-"

"Promise me! I don't want you to be another name on an announcement. I get that you want to protect me and whatnot, but promise me you'll try to live too!"

"Okay, I promise! But you have to do your best to survive too. Not that I have any doubts you'll be able to fight your way through any challenge, though", Ruby said, smirking a little at the last part. He then looked at her with a somber expression once more. "If we're in agreement, I'll do my very best to live, and if we end up being the last two here, we'll figure out what to do only then."

Sapphire bit her lip, and looked away from him. She didn't think of the possibility of being one of the last two surviving along with Ruby, but she didn't want to think of what their few options were, in those circumstances. Besides, she was just relieved to hear that he had promised to do his best to survive. That was what she wanted to hear more than anything.

One thing came to mind to say to him, but she didn't know how to say it. Instead, she linked her fingers through his, and snuggled into him. Even though the circumstances were all wrong, it felt nice to have those small moments.

"Sapph?" Ruby asked. It occurred to her then that she never responded to what he said.

"Thank you", Sapphire replied abruptly. Then, she decided to say what she wanted to say. "I love you, by the way."

Looking up, she smirked upon seeing Ruby's eyes grow wide, and his face grow red. He pulled at his shirt collar, looking more than a little embarrassed. Holding back a snicker, Sapphire felt proud of herself for causing him to react in such a way.

"I love you too."

Sapphire immediately stopped smirking, and the shade of her face quickly became the same as Ruby's.

**_19 Remaining._**


	19. Chapter 19

When N heard footsteps approach White's body, he picked up the pace. He kept on walking at that quick pace for quite a while, before he stopped outside a particular area. Although it could hardly count as a forest, there was a clutter of trees. N took a moment to stare at it, and after taking in its scent, felt a wave of nostalgia hit him.

After he had his moment to take in his peaceful surroundings, N moved further into the forest. He knew it would be a bad idea to take too much to hesitate and admire the scenery. There was too much to be done. Counting White's death, only eight people were dead. The sooner the other eighteen died, the closer he was to going home and moving forward with his goals.

As he walked further into the forest, his eyes darted from tree to tree in a quick manner of observation. His attention was quickly captured when he spotted something unusual. One of the branches seemed to be hanging lower by force. Through the green leaves, he spotted a hint of denim, and came to the conclusion that they were jeans. _Somebody's hiding up there, _he thought.

The first thing he decided to do was observe the tree for a few moments longer. Quietly, N approached it, hoping to get a closer look. As he moved closer, he began to identify more features. The person was small, and had blonde hair. Judging by the way they were breathing, N realized that they were sleeping.

A new strategy came to mind, but it was incredibly risky. However, he knew that he had to do everything within his power to find out who his new opponent was. He refused to let his guard down until he was able to do at least that.

Holding his breath to avoid making as little noise as possible, N placed his hands on the tree trunk, and climbed up lithely. As he moved up further, he was able to get a clearer look at the sleeping person's face. He gritted his teeth, feeling splinters dig into the tips of his fingers. He knew he would have to be quick with this observation.

When he saw the person's face, he was able to immediately put a name to that person. She was called Yellow, and although N didn't know much about the other participants, he did hear that she took down Lance at a young age with a team that would usually be considered weak. Despite her looks, she was a much stronger opponent than she let on to be.

Climbing back down, quietly and quickly, N decided that he needed a strategy to immobilize her. He also figured that he could try killing Yellow right there and then, considering she was asleep, but it would be difficult to get into a good position to fire a fatal shot.

_I suppose it's time to put my weapon to use, _he thought. First, he decided he needed to find the correct spot to use it.

Once he was back down on the ground, he looked around. A few feet away from where he was standing was a bush. It was relatively long, which made it ideal to lay out. N glanced up at the tree briefly, to make sure Yellow was still sleeping. Once he was positive that she was, he approached the bush.

Crouching down, he pressed his hands against it, and began to shake it. He worried about how loud the rustling leaves were, but he refused to go any further with his plan until he knew the bushes were clear.

Small, bug-like Pokemon ran out from the bushes almost immediately, and eventually, larger ones started leaving the bushes slowly. Once N was certain he had cleared the bush of any more creatures, he put his hands on a Zigzagoon's back, preventing it from running off.

It looked at him with initial distrust. With that, N laid his hands gently on top of the creature's head, and began to pet it. After a few seconds, the Zigzagoon's tail starting wagging. Smiling back at it, N then took his hands off it. The Pokemon looked at him with disappointment, but watching his careful hand gestures.

N pointed to the base of the tree. He moved his index finger up in a straight line, stopping at the branch where Yellow was sleeping. He formed an arc over her, indicating the Pokemon had to avoid waking her up. Then, he pointed to her daypack, which was perched at the end of the branch. Bringing his finger back to himself, the Zigzagoon realized what this strange man wanted.

It looked like it was ready to give a cry to show its understanding, but N quickly shushed it. Once more, he pointed to the base of the trunk, and gave the Pokemon a little nudge. With that, it ran to the base, and began to climb. Its sharp claws made it seem like it was having a much simpler time doing so than N did.

After running in a zigzag pattern, it stopped at the branch. Then, staring at Yellow for several seconds, it positioned itself to jump. The jump was less than graceful, and caused the branch to rock once the Zigzagoon landed. N held his breath and looked at Yellow, but there was no response from the younger girl, as she remained fast asleep.

Ignoring the brief moment of tension, the Zigzagoon scampered towards the end of the branch, and clamped the end of the daypack in between its teeth. Looking down, it let out a nervous whine at the steep-looking jump for such a small creature.

Realizing what the problem was, N held his arms out wide. Feeling more reassured, the Pokemon positioned itself to jump once more, and leapt off the branch. N caught it in his arms, and ruffled its fur once more. After taking the daypack out from its teeth, he put the Zigzagoon back on the ground. It looked at him for several more seconds, before scampering away.

Once it was gone, N opened his daypack. His food and water were hidden underneath his assigned weapon; a thick roll of barbed wire. Carefully, he removed it from the bag, and hissed as he pricked his finger on one of the barbs.

He held his finger up, taking note of the damage. There was a thin line of blood dripping down his finger rapidly, giving an indicator that the spikes could do an awful lot of damage to whoever got caught in them.

Carefully, he brought the barbed wire over to the bush. Rolling it out, he figured it would nearly go end-to-end through the bush. N wrapped various parts of the wires through the branches and leaves, trying his best to conceal it within the bush. By the time he reached the end of the bush, his fingers were covered in scratches and blood, both from the branches and barbs.

After laying down the final part of the barbed wire, N stood up once more, and admired his work. The barbed wire was barely visible, making it almost a perfect ploy.

He then took a hold of Yellow's daypack, and laid it on top of the bush. After a moment of deliberation, he pushed it in further, to increase the chances of coming in contact with the barbs.

N took a step back. It looked natural enough, but he had his doubts that it would work. She might be able to get the daypack without touching the barbed wire at all, meaning that he gave up his weapon for nothing. Still, in the chance that it did work, Yellow could inflict some horrible damage on her hands, making it difficult to use weapons.

Walking away, N decided to put faith in himself. If his plan worked, he would immobilize one of the most obvious dark horses within the game. When he left the sector, Yellow was still fast asleep, completely oblivious to what he just did.

* * *

><p>Emerald swung his legs back and forth, feeling like he had reached a new tier of boredom. Kris was still in one of the resting rooms, and he had been sitting out in the waiting room for the past few hours, doing nothing except switch which hand held his shotgun. He hoped that potential allies would pass by, but so far he didn't see anyone.<p>

_Well, I guess boredom is better than fighting for your life, _he thought. He ran his hand across the collar once more. It was his firm reminder that he was still in the program, and despite how boring things seemed, his life was at risk too.

Removing his hand from the collar, Emerald contemplated whether or not he should wake Kris up. First, he decided to look out each of the windows to be certain he wasn't missing anyone. From the right window, he could only see the muddy terrain. From the front window, he couldn't see anyone either. He was beginning to lose hope, until he looked out of the left window.

His eyes widened. In the near distance, a person with shoulder-length, black hair, and a blue outfit was approaching. Although it was still hard to tell from where he was standing, Emerald assumed that the person's head was down, and they were swaying ever-so-slightly. The most logical conclusion he could arrive at was that the person was feeling ill.

"_Kris! _There's someone outside! You keep watch, I'm gonna go after them!" he roared, clutching onto the shotgun as he bolted to the door. Just as he closed the front door, he heard another door opening. He decided he could talk to Kris when he got back.

Running towards the person, who turned out to be a boy, Emerald was glad to have taken off his platforms before going outside. The boy, upon hearing someone running towards him, raised his head, a lost look on his face. Emerald came to a skidding halt, narrowly avoiding crashing into the other person.

"Who are you?" Emerald asked, looking up intently. The other boy hesitated before replying.

"X", he murmured.

"Huh. I'm Emerald! What're you doing all the way out here? Were you looking for shelter in the clinic, or something?"

Taken off guard by the smaller boy's barrage of questions, X narrowed his eyes, trying to think of an appropriate response. He _did _consider staying briefly in the clinic, but after a lot of deliberation, he decided he would go out to the west, and well past the clinic, for other reasons.

"I wasn't planning on doing so, but-"

"Really? You looked kind of ill on the way here."

"I'm not ill. I'm just tired. Have you occupied the clinic?" X asked. Emerald nodded a few times.

"Look, me and a friend are trying to form a group of allies. We think that if we can gather together, we can try and work out a way to get out of here. Trust is the first step, right? So, if you don't want to fight, you should join us. We need more people on our side", he urged.

X was astounded by this boy. He ran out into the open, just learned X's _name, _and already offered to ally with him. He really had nothing to lose, by the looks of things, or he was just a huge idiot. _Then again, I have nothing to lose either. If this boy didn't stop me, I probably would have already thrown myself off a cliff. This could be some sort of sign. Besides, Y's still alive. We could ally with her, too._

"What's your weapon?" X asked, in almost a resigned tone.

"You really didn't notice it? This thing", Emerald muttered, holding up the shotgun for X to see. Then, he furrowed his brows, "What's yours?"

Reaching into the grip of his belt, X pulled out the ice pick. After Emerald looked at it for a few seconds, X shoved it back in his belt, and began to walk forward. The shorter boy quickly followed.

"Hey, you're coming with me?!" Emerald asked excitedly.

"I suppose so. I don't really have much to lose, after all. I never had much of a plan to begin with."

With X's mood dampening comment, the two boys walked back in silence. When they arrived back at the clinic several seconds later, Kris was standing there, clutching her nun-chucks. Upon seeing that Emerald was okay, and found a new ally, her face brightened.

"Can we trust him?" she asked in a hushed tone.

Glancing back at X, Emerald pulled Kris inside. She bent down slightly, so she could hear what he had to whisper.

"I don't think he's feeling well. You should've seen the way he was walking before I came over. In the state he's in, I don't think he's a threat. If he is planning on killing us after all, we can retaliate quickly", Emerald muttered, "But I think we can trust him. He doesn't seem like someone who's out to kill."

Kris nodded, looking over at X. He was still standing in the doorway, keeping his eyes on the ground. She understood what Emerald meant by X not feeling well. The boy seemed rather pale, and his posture looked weak.

"If you ask me, I think he needs to be around people. I don't know what's the matter with him, but I think having peer support should help. I'm glad you decided to recruit him as our ally, Emerald", she whispered back, before giving his hair a light ruffle.

With their discussion finished, Kris approached X once more. She maintained her bright smile, and put her hand on his shoulder. He gave a little jolt, but calmed down once he saw her face.

"Do you want to come in? We have a resting area, if that's what you need. Emerald and I are here for you, and please remember that if there's anyone you want to find, we'll keep a lookout for them", she told him.

X stared at her for an extra few moments, before wordlessly going inside. He passed by Emerald, remaining as silent as he was before, and took a seat in one of the chairs used for the waiting room. As he stared down at his lap, Kris and Emerald shared a worried glance.

"Y."

Confused, they both looked over at him, surprised to hear X speak so softly and suddenly. They walked over to him, Kris moving at a quick pace.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Y's my only friend left. If you want to find anyone for me, I wouldn't mind if it was her", he continued.

"What does she look like?"

"Dirty blonde bushy hair... Black shirt, red skirt. Don't worry about finding her for my sake, though."

Kris smiled, relieved at the fact that he had begun to talk to them. Then, she turned towards Emerald.

"I'm going to go find some food around here. Emerald, could you keep a lookout from the balcony, if that's okay? We have one more person to look out for now", she instructed.

"Got it!" he exclaimed, and ran towards the middle door. He opened it, briefly revealing the stairs, before clambering up them.

Before approaching the third door, Kris looked back at X one more time. Their eyes met briefly, and she could have sworn that there was a hint of gratefulness in his expression. She decided not to think about it too much, and opened the third door, leaving X alone once more.

**_19 Remaining._**


	20. Chapter 20

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" Sapphire asked.

"I thought we could just wander along here. I was hoping to get some shelter, too. Being out in the open like that is just too frightening", Ruby replied, shuddering.

The idea of remaining out in the open for a second night was less than appealing to him. He knew that it was more than likely that the players were waiting out in the open, moving around the island and looking for potential targets. One night had frayed his nerves, and he didn't want to know how he'd feel about a second night.

"Hrmm... Alright. I hope you remember that housing area's a danger zone", she reminded him, touching her collar. "The last thing I want is to have my neck explode."

Ruby nodded, having already thought of that. He was hoping to find somewhere that wasn't conventionally used as a living space, considering that would be a prime place for the players to look. Instead, he had been considering the idea of staying somewhere such as the clinic, or even the lookout stand towards the center of the island. He would have considered the lighthouse immediately, but that had become a danger zone in the morning.

It was relieving to know that there were a lot of options. All he could do was hope that anyone playing would stay out in the open, as they seemed to the previous night.

As they continued walking along in silence, Ruby reached into his pocket with his free hand. He pulled out the map, in an attempt to figure out where they were going. They had been traveling in a south-east direction, after leaving Yellow. According to the map, the area they were coming closest to was the clinic.

Ruby raised his eyes from the map, squinting. He was annoyed that the supervisors hadn't given him his glasses, but even without them, he could see a rickety, old building coming closer into view. Putting the map back in his pocket, he then turned his head toward Sapphire. She looked back at him.

"You see it too?" she asked. He nodded.

"According to the map, it should be the clinic. I think it'll be an unnoticeable place to stay, but if you'd rather look elsewhere, or stay out in the open for longer, I'll understand", he replied.

"I'm alright with going there. Let me go in first, though", she requested, holding up the knife to give enough reason.

"That's fine by me", Ruby told her, just about managing to keep the relief out of his voice. He had been worried that she would be dead set against staying indoors, but Sapphire seemed to understand why he wanted to.

With that, he gave her hand a tight squeeze, and they began to walk at a faster pace towards the clinic.

* * *

><p>X ran his finger along the ice pick once more, the pad of his index finger stopping just before the sharp tip. The aroma of coffee was wafting into the waiting room from the doctor's office, meaning that Kris should be out soon. He hadn't seen Emerald since he ran up to the balcony, but assumed he was okay, given that he had a shotgun with him. As of that moment, X was completely alone with his thoughts.<p>

He was still in a state of disbelief. One minute, he was preparing to walk off a cliff. The next, he had two allies, both of whom were overly eager about letting a stranger join them, and on top of that, one had even left to look out for his one last friend. It still hadn't sunk in, but for some reason, X felt a huge sense of gratefulness towards these two practical strangers.

Naturally, a part of him was still doubtful about their intentions. Forming an alliance with a stranger was a huge risk on their part, and he had wondered whether or not they were genuine about not playing. He chose to trust them, however, as they did involuntarily save his life.

If they weren't planning on killing him, X worried that they were overly naive. He assumed that they wouldn't recruit Lance or N at all, but there was no guarantee that they were the only ones willing to kill. If they chose the wrong person to let in, it could guarantee death.

_No matter what their intentions are, my life is still in danger, _he realized. Sighing at this final revelation, X laid the ice pick on the table in front of him, which was scattered with magazines. It was nice to be indoors, at the very least.

Wanting to distract himself from thoughts of his upcoming death, X gazed out the window. It wasn't so hard to look outside on this island, as there were no reporters, or paparazzi, ready to hound him. He supposed that was the one likable thing about this island, although the disadvantages heavily outweighed the advantages.

This time, though, when he looked out the window, he spotted two people walking towards the clinic. For a moment, he was struck with fear, but then calmed down upon realizing they were two of his seniors. Then, he raised his eyebrows. There was a chance they might be Kris' or Emerald's friends. Considering the duo agreed to look out for Y, the least he could do was try and do the same for them.

He got up from the chair, and approached the door, before hesitating. Kris could be out of the doctor's office with coffee any minute, and if she saw the door open, and no sign of him, she could assume that he no longer wanted to be allies with them. _Do I really want to be cast out and alone again?_

Biting his lip, X decided that the best course of action was to try and make his trip as quick as possible. He couldn't let them slip by, in case they really were friends of his two allies. Putting aside his doubts, he pressed his hand against the door handle, ready to pull it open, when he heard incredibly loud footsteps behind him.

"Coming through!" Emerald exclaimed, bolting towards him like a small bullet.

Before X could register what he said, the older boy pushed him out of the way, opened the door, and ran out. Putting aside his surprise over how quick that happened, X hurried over to the window, curious to see what was about to happen.

* * *

><p>As soon as Ruby and Sapphire saw a small, blond person run towards them, they froze. It took them less than a moment to realize it was the one person they wanted to find; Emerald. Ruby looked like he was ready to rush towards him at a moment's notice, but Sapphire shook her head. The second thing she had noticed about Emerald was that he was carrying a shotgun. <em>There's no way he'd try and kill us, though, <em>she tried to reassure herself.

"Oi, lovebirds! Over here!" Emerald shouted out, worried he didn't have their attention.

He was confused when they remained frozen to the spot, but tried to put it out of his mind. As he came closer to them, he slowed down to a walking pace. He quickly glanced down at the couple's joined hands, feeling no sense of surprise. Switching the shotgun to his left hand, he then spoke.

"I'm not going to bother asking why you didn't see me 'til now-"

"What's with the shotgun?" Sapphire cut him off, trying to keep her tone nonchalant.

"This is my weapon. Why wouldn't I keep it with me at all times?" Emerald mumbled, confused. "Anyway, have you two been together since the start of this thing?"

"We have. We were hoping to find you at some stage", Ruby explained. He then smiled, and let out a relieved sigh. "It's good to see you're okay."

"Yeah, uh... So, anyway, me and Kris have sort of formed a plan to get as many people together as possible. You two, Silver, and Gold were at the top of our list to find", Emerald said, not knowing exactly how to explain their plan.

"Really? Is it just you and Kris so far?" Sapphire asked.

"Nope. Not long before I saw you two, we found one of our juniors. His name's X. He's pretty worn down, though, so I don't think he's much of a threat", he explained, beginning to walk towards the clinic.

As he walked, Sapphire and Ruby glanced at each other. It was a huge relief to come across Emerald, but this plan had been sprung on them quickly. They were still reeling from the fact that they found the one person they were hoping to find, but it felt as if everything was happening way too fast. When Emerald realized they weren't following, he turned around.

"Hey, are you two coming or not?" he called out impatiently.

Ruby then jogged forward, pulling Sapphire along with him. Once they were nearly caught up to Emerald, the older boy decided to speak.

"Are you sure we can trust X? Or anyone apart from our seniors? We've never met these people before", he whispered, worried that X was nearby.

"Look, when I saw that kid, I thought he was going to faint. There's no way he's a threat to us. Besides, the people who want to kill are pretty obvious, and if someone looks suspicious, we don't recruit them. It's not that tough", Emerald grumbled, sounding annoyed at the fact he had to explain something like this.

"I guess it's better to trust people than to be scared of everyone. I get where you're coming from", Sapphire piped up, pulling Ruby forward to walk alongside Emerald.

Ruby didn't bother arguing back. If the choice was between putting his trust into Emerald, along with strangers, or to go without Emerald and not knowing what was happening to him, the choice was an easy one for him. With all three of them in relative agreement, they walked back to the clinic together.

At the door, Kris and X stood there, each clutching a mug. When Kris saw Emerald come back, with a triumphant grin on his face, she smiled back at him, glancing at his two friends. Within fifteen minutes, they had gained new allies, two of which were on the list of people they particularly wanted to find.

"It's nice to see you two again. I take it Emerald convinced you to join us?" she asked, stepping aside so they could go in.

"You could say that", Ruby laughed, "I'm relieved that you're both okay, though."

Then, he noticed X, and shuffled past him, feeling a little awkward for not saying anything towards him. X didn't seem to mind much, and followed the other three in.

Kris stood at the open door for an extra few minutes. She looked out, hoping that they could luck out once more. After a few minutes, she figured nobody else would come across their path for a while, and closed the door. She felt slightly disappointed that Gold or Silver didn't cross their path yet, but decided to simply hope they were both fine.

* * *

><p>After Diamond had finished the last of his portion, he thanked Platinum once more. Once she put away the food, however, things had grown quiet between them. Platinum had spent several minutes trying to make herself comfy on the haystack. Once she had settled into a comfortable position, she laid her hands on her lap, and pressed her lips into a thin line. Diamond glanced over at her often, trying to think of the right words to say.<p>

It was funny. They had always gotten along well, and had conversations, even without Pearl present. However, in such a dire scenario, it was hard to find anything that felt appropriate to say. Although neither of them said it, they knew that Pearl could be dead at that point. That thought alone was enough to make them quiet, and gave neither the desire to speak.

"Do you miss him?" Platinum suddenly piped up.

The quietness was making her thoughts feel like they were too loud, and almost invasive. She tried to look on the bright side; one of the two people she wanted to meet up with more than anyone, and she wanted to appreciate every moment she had with him.

"You mean Pearl?" Diamond asked quietly.

Platinum nodded. With that confirmation, he chewed on his lip, and looked up at the wooden ceiling, before turning back to her.

"Yeah, of course. I really wish he was with us here. I think if we were all in the same place, together, then we'd be a lot happier. It doesn't feel right just being a duo, or being on your own. I'd prefer if all of us were together, like we were before", he explained.

"Before... When you say that, it already sounds like it was so long ago. Everything here is happening so fast, and it's all so awful. I miss Pearl too. All we can do is hope he's okay, right?" Platinum asked.

"I guess", Diamond muttered, and tightened his grip on the hay. He didn't want to start crying again.

They sat there like that for quite a while. Platinum regretted bringing up Pearl, as it only seemed to worsen the atmosphere. She wanted to find a way to bring Diamond's mood up again, and racked her mind to think of something. She had already realized that they wouldn't be fully happy together without Pearl with them.

_If only there was a way we could meet up._

Platinum blinked several times, and almost jumped up, having thought of something. It was a quick, brash thought, but one that was developing in her mind with each passing moment. In a sudden moment of ecstasy, she finally jumped up, and faced Diamond.

"Missy, are you okay?" he asked, suddenly panicked. She nodded.

"Diamond, I've thought of something! Have you noticed that, on the map, there's a lookout area? It's high up on a hill, so if we call, our voices could carry. What if we try calling out to Pearl?" Platinum suggested, speaking quickly and excitedly.

She expected Diamond's face to light up after hearing her plan, but instead, he looked down at his feet, letting out a small, uncertain sound. She watched as he let his uncertainness show for several seconds, before he looked up.

"What if those two older guys find us instead?" he asked.

"They won't. As long as they see more than one person up there, they'll resist attacking. They won't know what weapons we have, so they'll be certain it's a risk", Platinum explained.

"They might still take the risk. I really don't know about this... I want to meet up with Pearl too, but he mightn't even hear us."

"I'm sorry you feel that way, but please, if you change your mind, follow me. I can't sit around while he's out there, probably terrified. I do hope you reconsider."

With that, Platinum spun on her heel, picked up her sickle, and walked towards the barn door. She stopped briefly at the barn door, waiting for Diamond to follow. All she heard was the rustling of hay, but no footsteps. Biting her lip, she continued forward. When she stepped outside, she suddenly froze, however.

Even if she did try to go find Pearl, it wouldn't be the same without Diamond. One reason was that she would be alone, and more vulnerable as a target. The second reason was that it would mean leaving Diamond all alone, once again ruining the plan of all three of them meeting up.

It also occurred to her that Diamond was being logical, while she wasn't. Platinum had no idea what Lance and N were willing to do, and the last thing she wanted was to die a stupid death. When the plan was first conceived, it sounded like the perfect way to meet up with Pearl. As she continued to think about it, however, she found that the chances of meeting up with him at any time they wanted to were incredibly small, and she would have to depend on luck.

_I was really going to go ahead with such a risky plan. Even though I've been exploring the outside world for two years, I truly have no experience with these kind of situations. I almost threw my life away so easily!, _she thought, and letting out a small cry, she hurried back inside.

Diamond smiled, and let out a sigh of relief upon seeing Platinum re-enter the barn. She sat down beside him, trembling. They looked at each other for several seconds, before speaking.

"I'm sorry... I can see that I'm not the only one upset about the fact we can't meet Pearl. I wanted to cheer the two of us up, but... I don't want to throw away my life either", she apologized.

"It's okay. We've both been moping a lot-" Diamond began, but Platinum shook her head. She laid her hands over her friend's, causing his face to burn up.

"Please listen to me. I promise I won't worry you any more by trying out such risky plans. From now on, I'm going to think like someone who wants to survive, and I will do everything in my power to do so", she stated firmly, before adding as a light joke, "I'll make your job, as my bodyguard, easier."

Diamond smiled, and nodded at her, understanding what she meant. The reason he hadn't gone out after her was because he figured she would never go through with such a plan. It was a relief to have her back, regardless. It was upsetting to know there really wasn't any chance of meeting up with the last remaining member in their trio. Sensing his glumness returning, Platinum squeezed Diamond's hands.

"I know all of this seems rather hopeless, but we can still try and enjoy each other's company at least, can't we?" Platinum said.

"Yeah, of course we can! Sorry about that", he replied, smiling once more.

They remained quiet for a moment, and Platinum took her hands away from Diamond's. She kept glancing over at him, hoping that he had gotten over her sudden display of brave stupidity. To try and take his mind off it more, she spoke up once more.

"Diamond, you and Pearl have been friends for a long time, correct?"

"I guess we've been friends for a long time. Why?"

"Can you tell me some stories from your childhood? I was always intrigued to hear what it was like", she requested, sidling in closer.

"Sure! I have lots of stories. I don't think Pearl will mind me sharing them", Diamond agreed.

With that, he immediately started a story from back when they were much younger. Platinum sat there, nodding in places, and laughing in others. While she was paying attention to the story, she was more focused on the fact that she was still here, and alive, with one of her two best friends. That seemed to matter more than anything, right then.

**_19 Remaining._**


	21. Chapter 21

Approximately half an hour after N left, Yellow woke up. She let out a slight groan, put down her crossbow, and stretched her arms. Her body felt numb from sitting in a tree for so long, but she was able to ignore the sensation. For a moment, she forgot where she was, and what exactly what going on.

Within seconds, she remembered everything. Tightening her grip on the crossbow, Yellow began to tremble once more, feeling a lump form in her throat. She took in slow breaths in an attempt to calm herself. After waking up, she promised herself that she wouldn't begin to cry once more.

This wasn't the time to mourn her dead crush, as her life could be endangered at any moment. Also, many others on the island were losing their friends, and the people they loved, but it didn't slow them down. She decided that she would try and carry herself to the end of the competition, and if she ended up becoming the sole survivor, then she would spend as long as she wanted to mourn Red.

Besides, in her emotional turmoil, Yellow had even gotten rid of two potential allies. Of course, she had figured they would have left on their own terms regardless, but she still felt bad. She wondered if they were both doing okay, and in that moment, she began to worry that she missed the next report.

Looking up at the sky, she saw that it wasn't as bright as it was when she fell asleep, but the sun was still visible. All she could do was hope that she didn't miss the report. Letting out a small sigh, Yellow began to realize that falling asleep might have been a mistake.

For quite a while, she sat there, not knowing what her next course of action would be. She had contemplated looking for Blue or Green, but a part of her wanted to remain in the forest. Even though she had been there since the previous night, she still felt like she needed more time to be alone with her thoughts, and think of the best course of action to take. For all she knew, looking for her two friends, or any of her juniors, could end up being a mistake.

_Maybe I need to eat something first, _she thought, realizing that it would be difficult to think on an empty stomach. Looking towards the end of the branch, though, Yellow realized that her bag was no longer there. She furrowed her eyebrows. _Did it fall while I was sleeping?_

Yellow her knees against the branch, and clutched it. It was difficult to clutch the branch with her left hand, as she was still trying to hold onto her crossbow. Slowly and carefully, she moved along the branch, wincing as the rough tree bark scraped her knees, threatening to rip the fabric of her pants.

Once she reached the end of the branch, she looked down, and tightened her hold on the branch. The ground wasn't as far down as it previously seemed, but Yellow decided to examine the area further before making any decisions to get down.

Directly below her was a long bush. After examining it for a few seconds, she noticed that a certain shade of green didn't fit in with the leaves. On top of that, it was a cylindrical shape, leaving Yellow at the conclusion that it was her bag, which had fallen into the bush while she was sleeping.

Looking over her shoulder, she had no idea how she would be able to turn around and go back to her previous spot, which would make climbing down easier. Despite the fact that she had spent a lot of time in the wilderness, she was still knew there was a strong possibility she would fall in the process of turning around and moving back to her previous spot. Once more, she looked down.

"It isn't _that _much of a jump..." she mumbled to herself. Her mind had been made up.

Taking in another deep breath, Yellow balanced herself into a sitting position, causing the branch to bend downwards, due to the pressure. She took one more look downwards, ensuring she would be okay. Even if the distance was longer than she expected, she was reassured by the fact that the bush would break her fall. Besides, she had made her decision, even if she was beginning to wish she risked the climb back to her previous position.

Finally, she forced herself to shift forward. Her legs were no longer wrapped around the branch, and any chances of changing her mind were gone, as she was falling. Much to her relief, the bush was directly below her, guaranteeing her a safe landing. The wind howled in her ears, and came to an abrupt stop when she landed, almost directly in the center of the bush.

Her limbs were entangled in the branches. Although she couldn't be certain, Yellow thought that her feet were in contact with the ground. When she landed, a searing pain ran up her legs and arms. She assumed that it was due to the sharp, defined branches, and the fact that she had landed so quickly.

When she tried to move her arms, though, it came with some difficulty. She let out a small grunt as she attempted to pull them upwards. The movement was accompanied by pain moving up her arm. It felt as if, whatever had caught onto her arms, was digging in further as she attempted to pull her arms out. It was beginning to worry her; branches shouldn't be this rough.

_Calm down. You won't be able to move a limb unless you're completely calm, _she thought.

Yellow waited a few moments. As she waited, her arms and legs throbbed in the places they had been pricked. Whatever had hurt her was still digging into her, and she was almost afraid to move. Then, after those seconds past, she forced her arms above her head, as quickly as she could.

Crying out upon lifting them, she brought them back down to eye level. The first thing Yellow noticed was that her sleeves were soaked with blood. The second thing she noticed was the barbs digging into her hands and arms.

"Was I tricked?" she asked quietly, to no one in particular.

The pain was worse in her legs. She was terrified to try and move them, but knew that her first priority was freeing her arms of the barbed wire.

Wincing, she curled the fingers of her left hand around the barbs protruding out of her right arm. She yanked them out, and dropped the bloodied wire into the grass. Blood dripped from her arm, and she was beginning to lose feeling in that arm, but she couldn't worry about it just yet. Not hesitating another second, she ripped the barbs out of her left arm too, and held her freed arms out in front of her.

The damage was awful. Her sleeves were torn in various places, and the blood kept on flowing. The part she was mainly worried about was her hands, however. Holding them in front of her face, she could see that they were deeply cut, and soaked. Despite how terrified she was, Yellow tried to pour all her concentration into healing them.

Several seconds past. Her head hurt from concentrating so much, and at the most, there was the weakest flicker of her healing abilities activating. Even after that flicker, more blood kept flowing, and a dreadful thought occurred to her: Those healing powers were rendered useless.

Shaking, Yellow dropped her arms down, carefully ensuring that they wouldn't end up falling back into the bush. One of the only comforting thoughts that had gotten her this far was the idea that if she, or her friends, obtained any serious injuries, she would be able to cure them. Somehow, those powers were useless when she needed them the most. She had no idea whether they became useless before she received the cuts on her hands, but those details didn't matter to her.

_What am I doing? Am I really going to give up here?, _she thought, looking down at her legs. They were still caught in the bushes, and the throbbing seemed to intensify with each passing minute.

She decided that she couldn't give up. Someone had obviously tried to hurt her, and make her completely unable to go on, and she had an idea of who it was. She refused to give up simply because that person wanted to eliminate her in one of the slyest ways possible.

Determined not to let that said person have his victory, Yellow took in another few deep breaths. Then, with all the strength she could muster, she dragged one leg forward. As she did, she cried out, and quickly laid her hand over her mouth, gasping. The sensation of the barbed wire dragging through her leg caused her to shudder, and she wanted nothing more than to get through this quickly.

The following steps were easier, since she knew what to expect. It was still incredibly painful, and each step felt like it dragged on for eternity. As she dragged her legs towards the end of the bush, she was biting down on her fingers to avoid making any noise. Fresh blood had been drawn from where she was biting down on, but she barely felt it.

When she approached the end of the bush, she picked up her daypack with her right hand, and continued walking, gripping tightly onto it, along with the crossbow. By that point, the crossbow had become a mix of shiny metal and crimson, due to the fact that she had barely put it down throughout her venture through the bush.

Taking in one last deep breath, Yellow knew that a few more steps would do it. Biting down on her hand once more, she continued to drag her legs, which were beginning to feel like lead. After what felt like an eternity, she finally stumbled out of the bushes, falling to the ground. She tossed her crossbow aside for the time being, along with her daypack, which had a bloody handprint on it.

Almost with some reluctance, she glanced down at her legs. Most of the barbed wire had been left behind in the bush after her final tug, but she saw that some piece still remained. Wincing once more, she pulled them out in a quick process, bringing a fresh surge of pain to her hands as she came in contact with the barbs once more.

Once her legs were released as well, she tossed the barbed wire as far away from her as she could, Yellow examined the damage to her legs. The pants were ripped much more than her shirt was, and the cuts seemed deep. From that venture alone, she had lost a lot of blood, and yet blood kept on pumping.

Yellow felt lightheaded. She knew that she had lost a lot of blood, and the pain in her limbs had reached its threshold. At that moment, they felt numb. It was a strange sensation, but much more welcomed than what she had felt moments before.

_Could I really die from something like this?, _she thought, gritting her teeth. Then, after several seconds, she shook her head. _I refuse to die this easily. Even if I can't heal myself, I'll do my best to make it._

With all the effort she could bring herself to achieve, she placed both feet on the ground. Then, after pressing her injured hands against the ground, she managed to force herself to stand once more. Once she was standing, she tried to steady herself, finding that she was swaying quite a lot.

After she felt as steady as she would be, Yellow picked up her crossbow, and held it by her side. Then, she looked around the forest, turning her head from side to side. It was not too different from Viridian Forest. Although it was an unfamiliar location, she decided that this would be her sector, and she would defend it from anyone who posed a threat to it, or the people within it.

She had no idea where she was going to settle at that point. All that mattered was that that person's plan had failed, and she was still standing, as difficult as it was to do so.

**_19 Remaining._**


	22. Chapter 22

"What a terrible day. You're all slacking! I understand there's not a lot of you here, but one death is inexcusable!" Charon scolded, his voice ringing throughout the island.

His sudden snapping had startled those who remained in silence, such as Green, Gold and Silver. Gold pulled up his sleeve, confirming that it was 6PM on the dot.

"Anyway, the unlucky person to bite the dust was participant number twenty-four, White. Because of your slacking, I'm adding an extra danger zone. At 6.30PM, D-2. At 7PM, C-7. At 9PM, H-4. At 11PM, E-10. Don't delay, get killing!"

With that, the feedback from the speakers came to a stop, and the island was brought back into silence. Green pulled out his map wordlessly, along with a pencil. As he filled in the future danger zones, Gold leaned over his shoulder.

"Aren't you going to cross out any of those names?" he asked, pointing to the clear list of names.

"Another time. It's better to keep track of the danger zones right now", Green said distractedly.

Silver raised an eyebrow, suspecting there was more to it than what he was saying. Given the way their senior replied, however, it was clear it was a subject he didn't want to explore. Instead, he stayed silent, as did the other two. Gold glanced at the other two. Over the past few hours, since finding Green, there had been only a little conversation between them every now and then. It was hard to believe nearly six hours had passed since they became a group. He didn't want the next six hours to be spent nearly in total silence once more.

"Do you guys think that the supervisors have any personal favourites to win this thing?" Gold asked.

Green and Silver looked over at him simultaneously. Silver looked like he was trying to find something to reply with, but before he could speak, the oldest of the three spoke up.

"Of course they do. On top of that, there are people they'd probably prefer to stay alive, even if they're not their top choice", Green replied.

"What do you mean?" Silver asked.

"I'm a gym leader, and so was Cheren. If two gym leaders were to die around the same time, it'd be noticed much quicker than a bunch of normal teenagers dying. It'd be a hassle for the Pokemon Leagues in terms of replacement, and the supervisors' plans would be exposed immediately. I don't know if they intend to keep this a secret, but if they do, it would probably end up benefitting them more if I survived, considering Cheren's gone", he explained.

Gold and Silver raised their eyebrows at each other, surprised by how much Green had spoken. They were certain that he was still reeling from the earlier trauma he experienced, but apparently, he had plenty of time to recover and begin thinking straight once more.

"But there's a lot of people here who'll be noticed if they died. Kris has a lot of connections, and if enough of those people raise concerns if she died, then it'll get messy. Also, two of the kids from Hoenn have well-known fathers. No matter who comes out victorious, they can't write off all these deaths happening at the same time as a coincidence", Silver protested.

"That's what I figured. In that case, they either have a meticulous coverup for this, or they're going to come clean. I can't understand why they would, though."

"Aside from all that stuff about convenience- Is there anyone here that you think they _want _to win?" Gold cut in.

"Definitely. I think everyone's top preference would be if Lance or N came out on top, with an exception. They were sent here to kill us, so it would probably be preferable if one of their specifically chosen killers got out of here alive", Green replied.

"Who's the exception?" Gold asked, almost hesitantly. He had almost guessed before he even spoke up. Judging by the way Silver had tensed up, he assumed that the younger boy knew too.

"Come on, don't tell me you don't know? Giovanni. If anyone other than Silver turns out to be the winner, he's not going to take that easily", the older boy replied, before turning to Silver, "I know you don't believe me, but that part is true. He's still your father, and he would take your death as badly as my grandfather would take mine."

Silver curled his hands into fists, and uncurled them once more. Thoughts about his father had crossed his mind quite often so far, but he was always at crossroads about it. He always got the impression his father did care for him, but he had to wonder to what extent.

"There's a difference between Giovanni and your grandfather, though. Oak had no say in what happened to you. My father could have said something. I have to wonder just how much he cares about me, exactly, if he put me in this game too", Silver said. Hearing his bitter speech, Gold sat up properly once more.

"Hey, wait a minute! That Ghetsis guy said that nobody was going to be a special exception. Every Dexholder, along with a few of their friends, are here. If you were excused from this, then Giovanni would be going against all that stuff Ghetsis preached about!" he protested.

"I have to agree with Gold on that, too. I know that we were just talking about who the supervisors have personal preferences for, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. They have to stay impartial to everyone", Green agreed.

Upon having that fact out in the open, the trio immediately began to feel a little less comfortable. Gold knew that none of the supervisors had any preferences for him, but it was a little easier to bear, knowing that Kris or Silver could have been ensured safety. The main thing that unsettled Green was that, since Cheren was dead and his killer hadn't faced any punishment, gym leaders were also replaceable. Silver was still trying to get over the fact that Giovanni was willing to put him through something like this.

"It really is hopeless", Silver said quietly.

Gold snapped out of his depressive state, and glared at his friend. He refused to lull back into another six hours of miserable silence. Instead of replying to Silver's comment, he stood up, walked over to where their three daypacks were hidden, and brought them back to the other two. Unzipping them, he pushed two loaves of bread towards the others.

"None of us have eaten much today, right? I dunno about you two, but I'm not going to starve myself because of some depressing facts. This whole thing's depressing, but at least we have people we can rely on, right? At least try to keep your strength up", Gold commanded, before pulling out another bread roll for himself.

Green and Silver were completely caught off guard by his sudden burst in motivation, but silently agreed with him. With that, they began to eat, only realizing how hungry they were after they had taken the first bites. Gold grinned at them, before reaching over for Silver's daypack. At first, the redhead looked like he was about to protest, when Gold spoke once more. Before he did, he held up Silver's assigned weapon; the aluminum baseball bat.

"If any of us get stressed, we can let off steam by hitting some branches, or something. I'm just sick of sitting around and moping", he suggested, laying the baseball bat on the ground.

At first, the other two looked at it quietly. Finally, Green shook his head, and initiated conversation with the other two. It was only small talk he could come up with at that point, which he wouldn't remember later, but everyone in the group was simply relieved to have finally broken their quiet spell. Even though none of them said it, they knew that as long as they kept talking, the heavier conversation would come later.

* * *

><p>After Rakutsu had crossed out White's name, he stood up once more, and nodded at Faitsu. She picked up their daypacks, and began to walk once more. Rakustu held onto the Ingram as they walked.<p>

As they walked, Faitsu noticed something different about him. Ever since the most recent report, he kept his eyes on the ground, and was continuously grimacing. It was almost alien to see him so sullen, considering that this was the same lively, flirtatious boy from her class. _Maybe there really is a side to him that I didn't know, _she thought.

"Rakutsu? You've been awfully quiet", she said softly. Finally, he turned to look at her, and forced a smile.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm not going to lie, this whole thing is beginning to take its toll on me. Eight people are dead, you know that? People are actually _killing, _and I can't even think of a way out. I just can't believe these guys are actually succeeding with this", he said, tightening his grip on the Ingram's base.

She bit her lip and looked downwards. Being a part of Team Plasma her whole life, she knew that Ghetsis was the type of man who wouldn't rest until he achieved his aims, and this was a prime example. While she was upset about being a part of this game, alongside N, she still couldn't help but be impressed.

"He's- _They're _powerful people. It doesn't seem very strange to me that they were able to successfully carry out their plans. They have more resources than we could ever imagine", she tried to reassure him, knowing her words weren't enough.

"I know they have a lot of resources! But there's no way it could have gone unnoticed for so long. How could nobody see that they were plotting something to get rid of the Pokedex Holders? It was such an obvious move!" he cried out.

"Rakutsu, please don't beat yourself up over it. Sometimes, they're able to outsmart anyone keeping close surveillance on them, but you don't need to take this so personally. You _just _started your journey. There was no way you could have known about any of their plans", Faitsu said.

Rakutsu came to a stop. The girl turned around, surprised to see him stop so suddenly. Out of concern, she ran back towards him, and put her hands on his shoulders, giving him a gentle shake. With that, he raised his head, to reveal he was grinning. Despite that, his expression still appeared bitter.

"If I die here, there's something I want you to know, Faitsu", he said softly.

"What?" she replied.

Then, he shook his head. Rakutsu took out his map once more, and turned it over, revealing a blank side. Taking out his pencil, he began to scribble on it, and after a minute or two had passed, he handed it to Faitsu. It read:

_Don't read this out loud. I think they can probably listen in on our conversations._

_I knew about all their plans. I knew everything about Team Plasma and Team Galactic. I also had extensive information on all the other villainous organizations around the world. Something like a death game between Pokedex Holders shouldn't have slipped under my nose._

_I am a member of the Interpol Police, Rank S. If I die on this island, and you live, you _must _pass on all this information to the Interpol. Tell them _**_everything_**_ that happened._

Finishing the note, Faitsu's mouth hung open slightly, and she looked up at Rakutsu. He continued to stare at her with a serious expression, but all she could remember was his carefree, overly excited demeanor. She could hardly believe they were the same two boys. Most of all, she couldn't get over the irony of the fact that he had put his trust into a member of Team Plasma. They were supposed to be enemies, but neither had any idea of each other's true identities, until Rakutsu revealed his.

She took a step back from him. She was completely unsure of what he wanted her to do with that information, but there was one thing she was certain of: She was taking her secret to the grave. After noticing Faitsu take a step back, Rakutsu stepped towards her, lightly touching her arm with his free hand.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but I really needed someone to give that information to them if I died here. With Hugh gone, the truth is, I trust you the most now", he said, almost with a hint of embarrassment in his voice. He smiled at her. She continued to look at him with wide eyes.

"You really trust me that much?" she murmured. He nodded.

"You've helped me out a lot on our journey, after all. In this type of situation, who I trust becomes pretty clear. Take that piece of information as the ultimate sign of my trust", he told her.

Faitsu couldn't find the right words to say. Truthfully, she was still in shock that she had spent all this time with someone who wanted to destroy the organization she cherished so much, but if she let that show, then Rakutsu would try to kill her, bulletproof vest or no bulletproof vest. A part of her still trusted him, but as of that moment, she decided to merely stay by his side to retain that trust.

"I'm sorry I kept this from you. With that said and done, will we keep going?" he offered.

Still unable to say anything, Faitsu simply nodded, and handed the map back to him. Rakutsu didn't attempt to make small talk, and instead gave the girl a chance to try and take it all in. With that, they both began to walk once more, unsure of where they were headed.

**_19 Remaining._**


	23. Chapter 23

Rakutsu and Faitsu continued walking down south. As they walked, the air grew saltier, and the distance Wingull cries could be heard. There was a small hill leading down to the beach, and when they approached it, Faitsu came to a stop. Rakutsu turned to look at her.

"Are you sure this is safe? Isn't there a danger zone somewhere along here?" she called out, trying to make her voice heard over the sound of the sea.

"I think so! According to the map, there's this little rocky area, specifically marked. That was the danger zone. Besides, that won't be until nine. We're safe! Come on!" he replied, maintaining his enthusiasm.

With that said, he jumped down off the hillside, his feet softly landing in the sand. He held his hand up to Faitsu. It was easy to tell that he was trying to take her mind off what he had told her earlier by performing little gestures like these, and acting like his old self, but she couldn't complain about that. She grabbed his hand without hesitation, and was pulled down onto the beach.

They walked a little further out, and then began traveling west. While Faitsu did attempt to keep up with Rakutsu most of the time, she found herself falling behind on purpose, more than once. She still needed time to comprehend what he told her, and figure out if she could really continue being his ally any longer.

"Hey, Faitsu? You okay?" he asked suddenly, turning round. She flinched, caught off guard by the fact he noticed her odd behaviour.

"Sorry, I'm okay. Why are we walking along here?" she questioned, looking out at the sea.

"I thought if we were going to look for a hiding place, we should take a route that would be less traveled. We're more likely to run into people if we move on the main land, and I don't think there's many people left who we could ally with", he explained.

Then, it was Rakutsu's turn to come to a stop. Faitsu tilted her head, trying to see what he was doing. Instead of giving her an initial explanation, he turned to look out at the sea. Slowly, she faced the ocean too, trying to see what had caused him to stop. They stood side-by-side like that for several seconds, before Rakutsu spoke once more.

"Besides, the sunset's one of the few peaceful things on this island, don't you think?Even when the world's gone insane, it's always nice to look out and see a sight like that", he said, awe in his voice. "I just wanted to show you that before we moved along."

Faitsu felt touched that he would bring her along here just to show her something like that. It had never been something astounding to her, but it was clear that Rakutsu enjoyed the sight of it, and it felt meaningful that he wanted to share that moment with her. It almost pushed the subject of him being a member of the Interpol out of her mind.

"It really is beautiful", she commented, gazing out at the sea.

Rakutsu nodded. Although his face didn't show it, he was becoming a little embarrassed at that little moment they shared. It was unlike him to do this very often, but he felt like the circumstances were right. Still, he didn't want to let the moment linger for too long.

"Let's get going, Faitsu. We still have a little while to go before it gets dark", he said, beginning to walk forward once more.

Faitsu blinked a few times, and then scampered to catch up with him. Soon, they were walking side by side once more. Neither person said anything, and instead they simply listened to the sound of the tide slowly moving inwards and outwards. The scene was almost too peaceful for a fight to the death.

The scene that could nearly be considered peaceful was ruined in a matter of seconds.

One of the first things that seemed odd was that there was a disturbance in the lapping of the water. It sounded uneven, which made Rakutsu suspicious. He was about to investigate why it sounded so odd, when a loud, firecracker-like sound resonated through the air.

He was about to take the opportunity to run, or duck, when it suddenly hit him. He had no idea how the person with the gun got so close, but it was clear that this person knew how to move stealthily. While anyone else on the island would have aimed for his chest, or his head, this person wanted to disable him.

The bullet had obviously been aimed low, as it exited through his left kneecap. As soon as it hit him, Rakutsu fell onto one knee, crying out upon feeling the impact. Faitsu let out a startled cry, and hoisted him up by the shoulders. When she turned around, however, she let go of him immediately. Trying not to be offended by her sudden action, he attempted to make himself stand up properly, even if his left leg would no longer comply.

"Lord N...!"

_Lord?_

Rakutsu looked over his shoulder, his heart pounding. Standing there was the one man he had been working against since he joined the interpol; N Harmonia. Before he could register anything further, that man, who was in a kneeling position, fired another bullet. For once, Rakutsu couldn't bring himself to move fast enough, and another sharp surge of pain ran through his right kneecap. He toppled over, no longer able to control himself. In this state, it would be unlikely he would ever stand, even if he made it out alive.

Even though that should have been his main concern at that moment, Faitsu's words kept ringing in his head: _Lord N. _He had so many questions for her, but he kept making up excuses in his head. It was possible that everyone in the Unova region who fell for his words ended up calling him a Lord, regardless of whether or not they had any affiliation with Team Plasma.

Groaning, Rakutsu couldn't ignore the pain any longer, no matter how baffling his thoughts were. He curled up into a V-shape, clutching his knees. _Ever since this killing game begun, I've been a disgrace to the Interpol. First, this plan completely slipped past me, and now I couldn't even avoid two bullets. Am I really that pathetic?_

"Pick up that gun", N demanded calmly.

For a moment, Rakutsu almost raised his head in disbelief. Even in this state, N was willing to give him a fair fight just didn't add up. However, his confusion was quickly cast aside. Faitsu reached down, and picked up the Ingram. She ran over to N's side, and handed him the weapon.

With every ounce of his strength, Rakutsu turned over slightly, placing his behind in the sand. He was in a sitting position, and even though he wanted to keep staring at his bloodied legs, he stared up at N. The man still had an intrigued expression on his face, and a pistol in his hand. Faitsu stood by his side, and held the Ingram.

"F-Faitsu, come on. You don't have to be scared of him. We're an unstoppable team, remember? Don't do what he tells you", Rakutsu said quietly, and in a strained voice.

For a moment, Faitsu looked down at the Ingram, refusing to meet the stares of N or Rakutsu. Then, N touched her chin, and raised her head, forcing her to stare at her classmate. When she shook her head in a light motion, N didn't appear annoyed, but just nodded, and began to speak.

"I'm afraid this girl won't listen to you. When I saw her with you, I recognized this girl immediately. She's a member of Team Plasma, and lives for the same ideals as I do. I assume she never told you, of course", he explained, observing Rakutsu's expression.

Even though he had felt lightheaded, due to his injuries, before receiving the information about Faitsu, it still sent his head reeling. The person he had been trying to find in that class all along was the same person who had stood by his side for most of his journey, and throughout this death competition. On top of that, she's the same person He looked up at Faitsu.

"He's telling the truth, isn't he?" Rakutsu said, practically stating it. He knew that N had no reason to lie.

Faitsu stood there for a moment, still clutching the Ingram tightly to her chest. She glanced up at N briefly, and then back at the boy on the ground. Giving one firm nod, Rakutsu let out a heavy sigh. He had no idea how to express his frustration, disappointment, and betrayal.

"When Team Plasma disbanded, I tried to lead a normal lifestyle. I intended to go to school, become acquaintances with a few classmates, and get on with life. All I could do was hope that my lord would eventually revive Team Plasma. It all went horribly wrong, though... I was never meant to be here. I was never meant to stay around others as much I've stayed around you and Hugh. I'm sorry. I never intended to let things end up like this", she spoke. Her voice sounded genuine, but Rakutsu didn't know if he could ever trust her again.

For a while, he simply glared at her, ignoring the pain in his knees. Although he could ignore it, he already knew that any chances of standing up were out of the question. He was useless. Faitsu trembled under his glare, almost feeling guilty over this whole situation. The beauty of the scene behind them was ruined.

N was the only one paying any attention to the smells and sounds of the beach, but tried not to get carried away with it. Instead, he laid a hand on Faitsu's shoulder. She looked up at him with expectation, and a hint of admiration. Clearly, her loyalties had not changed since they last saw each other.

"Were you allied with that boy?" he asked.

"Yes... He was a classmate", she informed him.

"Look at your classmate. He has no trust for me, clearly, and even if he says he does, he will try and kill me before the end of this competition. Between the three of us, I am the least desirable to him. I doubt he will lie, though, and will admit he does not want to ally with me", N began.

"What are you getting at?!" Rakutsu snapped. The older man seemed to ignore him.

"There is no chance of this boy being saved. As he has been shot in the kneecaps-"

"By _you!"_

"There is no chance of saving him. It would even be difficult to do so outside of these circumstances. If he lives, he will lead a life of suffering and hindering. I believe he will never be able to walk again. If he dies now, he will be spared of all that. Tell me, Faitsu, what do you think I believe is the more ethical option?" he asked, his tone turning gentle.

"You would opt to kill him now", she replied, her tone quiet. It was hard to miss how fearful she sounded.

"It's the most viable option for him. I believe being killed by me would be an insult to him, so you can do the honours", he instructed.

Faitsu stopped breathing, her grip loosened on the Ingram, much to Rakutsu's relief. That small gesture wasn't missed by N. With his look darkening, he laid his hands over the base of the weapon, and looked the younger girl in the eyes.

"I've asked you to do this. Prove to me that you're faithful to your King. If you won't kill him, I will do so, and I believe he wouldn't like to be killed by me, of all people", he murmured, before staring at the boy.

Tightening her grip on the Ingram, Faitsu looked down at Rakutsu pleadingly. She took an uncertain step towards him. Knowing that his fate was sealed either way, Rakutsu leaned back, providing himself more comfort. He looked at her with a stern expression, however.

"He's right, you know. I won't ever rest properly, knowing I got killed by him. If it's you, though... I could live with that", he told her, "One last thing. If you choose to stay by his side throughout this, know that you've done the wrong thing. Let that haunt you for the rest of your life."

"Stop it!" Faitsu screamed.

With that, her index finger tightened on the Ingram. It fired out bullets at a rapid pace, all of which hit Rakutsu, due to her close distance. He let out a loud cry on the first impact, but soon, he was simply gritting his teeth, which were coated in blood, as he tried to bear with it. In an instant, he fell onto his back. A pool of blood was forming beneath his body. He was covered in bullets, ranging from the neck down to the top of his thighs. There was no doubt about it; Faitsu had killed him.

"Oh..." she moaned, and dropped to her knees.

Clutching her head in her hands, which was still holding the Ingram, she began to cry. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she didn't attempt to stifle her sobs, as she mourned Rakutsu, the boy she had recently grown close to, and who had shared his closest secret with her.

After a few minutes had passed, Faitsu saw a hand reach down towards her. With her sobs subsiding, she grabbed that hand with her free one, and she was pulled up. N laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Come with me. I have to talk to you, if you would oblige. I'll explain everything, including what happened here, if you are willing to come. Are you ready to leave?" he asked.

Faitsu looked down at the body one last time, before nodding.

"I'm ready", she told him, slipping her hand out of his.

With that, they began to walk further down the beach, leaving Rakutsu's body behind.

**_18 Remaining._**


	24. Chapter 24

N and Faitsu walked in silence for a long time. Although Faitsu was filled with relief she had come across the one person she truly wanted to find, she couldn't let herself be completely happy. She couldn't stop thinking about Rakutsu, and how he said she'd regret her decision. No matter what he said, she knew that he was wrong about that. He hadn't been the one devoting his life to Team Plasma, and N himself. He only learned about N from biased reports.

Regardless of how angry she had been with him in those final moments, it still didn't make her actions any more excusable. Faitsu was completely torn; she had made N proud by doing what he wanted her to do, but she had also taken away another life. It was impossible to understand whether or not she had done the right thing.

"Let's stop here", N suggested. He pointed to the area he wished to talk in. It was a little overhanging of the grass from the main island.

The overhanging grass made the area look like a little sandy cave, and due to the fact it was getting dark, Faitsu figured that it would be difficult to be spotted on the beach in those circumstances. Nodding, she followed him in under the little area.

He knelt down, resting his knees in the sand. He placed his hands on his lap, and waited patiently for Faitsu to join him. She sat down opposite N, and brought her knees to her chest. Deciding not to speak, she wanted to hear everything her lord had to say to him. It was still difficult to believe that she had been lucky enough to meet him.

"I apologize for making you kill that boy. It was my life or his, and I wanted to at least grant him the mercy of being killed by someone he was on good terms with", N apologized.

"Why did you shoot his kneecaps? He seemed so angry about that, in his final moments", Faitsu replied, her voice quivering. Her grip tightened on the Ingram as she spoke.

"I saw the gun in his hands. If I had attempted to kill immediately, he may have still have the opportunity to shoot me. I had to catch him off guard and immobilize him. Thank you for picking up the gun, again. You saved me from a potentially bloody shootout."

Faitsu smiled at him. It made her happy to know that he was grateful towards her. Even though the actions she had carried out weighed heavily on her heart, it was still pleasant to know that she had made N happy. Somehow, that made everything feel much easier to bear.

Regardless of how she felt, there was still something bothering Faitsu. While she was aware of how cold N could come off as at times, his attitude towards her in Rakutsu's final moments had weighed heavily on her mind. There was something she wanted to know, but it worried her that the question would upset her Lord. Putting aside her worries briefly, she spoke up.

"My Lord... May I ask something? I'm sorry if this comes off as rude, or offensive, but I need to know. Have you killed anyone on this island?" she asked hesitantly.

She expected N to struggle to find an answer, or even show a gesture that he was shocked at receiving such a question. That didn't happen, however. Instead, he simply nodded.

"Yes, I have. I've killed Shauna and White. My father selected me for this so that I would kill those who oppose us. People like Shauna and White are the reason Team Plasma is disbanded today. If it wasn't for these people, neither of our lives would be endangered. Besides, the rules of the game do state that we have to kill if we wish to survive, do they not?" N explained.

Faitsu bit her lip and looked downwards. She had always believed N was a perfect human being, and followed his ways of life religiously. Regardless of that, he had also killed. Finding herself beginning to be disturbed by that fact, she mentally scolded herself. N was only doing what he could to survive, and he was right to do so. He deserved to live more than anyone else. Besides, she was no one to judge. At the end of the day, she was a killer too.

As Faitsu struggled with her thoughts, N observed her. He figured that she wouldn't react well to hearing those facts, but she didn't seem to have any desire to abandon him. He called her name to bring her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get sidetracked", she apologized. N waved off her apology.

"Before I begin, I need to know something. Are you willing to help me, as you did back there, regardless of what has happened so far in this game?" he asked.

"Of course. I was one of your subordinates before Team Plasma was disbanded, and I'll always stand by you", Faitsu replied in a firm tone. She still intended to serve him, and tried to put all doubts out of her mind.

"That's a relief to hear. I made an offer to another girl earlier to join me, but she remained so stubborn. I now know that the only people I can trust are the people who share the exact same ideals that I do", N said, laying his hands over hers.

They both remained quiet for a moment. Faitsu was simply embracing the fact that N trusted her, even if she had only served as a grunt with Team Plasma. N seemed to be waiting for her reply, but after receiving none, he continued speaking.

"First of all, I need to know what you got as your assigned weapon. Was this his or yours?" he asked, moving his hand onto the gun.

"It's mine. If you wish to take it, I'll happily give it to you. I don't know how to feel about using this again, to be perfectly honest..." she said, accompanied by a little nervous laugh.

"I understand it makes you nervous, so I'll take it for now, but I may need to give it back to you, as it will be vital during your role in my plan", he told her, taking the Ingram away from her.

He admired it for a moment, knowing that it was the most powerful weapon on the island. It was reassuring to know that the person who had received this weapon was the same person who trusted him more than any other participant did. Still, it also raised concerns about whether or not she would take back the weapon. When his newest plan came into action, he needed her to take the initiative.

"Plan?" Faitsu spoke up quietly.

"I'll explain it later. First of all, I believe there is a chance we could both survive. One of the supervisors stated that this was a punishment, but I believe, as members of Team Plasma, we should be granted mercy from my father. If I'm not mistaken, he'll know that we'll return to pursuing our ideals if we emerge victorious", N explained, "We must be the only two still alive, though. Are you still willing to stay by my side?"

"Even if you're saying that to keep me by your side, I don't mind. I want to stay by your side no matter what, my Lord. If it means I'll have to die, so be it", Faitsu argued, but then smiled once more, "I do appreciate your sentiments, though. You truly are the kindest person on this island."

"I mean it. My father would show mercy towards two people who will continue to liberate Pokemon. You will not die as long as you continue to serve me. If you manage to prove yourself as a worthy ally, you will gain a position of prominence in this organization, once we leave here."

After hearing that promise, Faitsu's eyes widened. She was always more than happy to be a grunt, and carry out any small tasks that needed to be carried out. The fact that N recognized her as someone worthy enough to rule alongside him meant more than anything else to her.

She decided not to let that go to her head, however. Her main priority was to keep N alive, and the young girl refused to be backtracked by promises of power. Her main track of mind was that she would give up her life for his.

"Faitsu?" he spoke suddenly, waving a hand in front of her face. She blinked a few times, and finally came back to her senses. Then, she remembered something important.

"I'm sorry. Anyway, I was given a weapon from Rakutsu, but I want you to have it", she told him, and then her cheeks grew pink. "Could you please turn around?"

Nodding slowly, N took the Ingram away from her, and turned away. In a quick motion, she removed her shirt, undid the straps of the Kevlar vest, and put her shirt back on. Faitsu forcedly coughed a few times to let the man know it was safe to turn around again. He peeked over his shoulder, and then turned around properly.

Once he turned around, N's eyes fell immediately on the bulletproof vest. Faitsu smiled once more, and laid it on top of the Ingram he was holding. Several seconds passed before he spoke again.

"What is this?" he asked.

"It's a Kevlar Bulletproof Vest. It'll keep you safe from any attacks to your torso, I think. Are you happy with it?" Faitsu spoke quickly, watching his eyebrows raise upon hearing it'd keep him safe.

"Certainly. Thank you, Faitsu. Your... devotion is... unwavering", N replied slowly, having trouble to find the right words.

She simply basked in the fact that N was happy with what she had done for him. Seeing the vest in his hands briefly brought back memories of Rakutsu, but she quickly expunged them from her mind. He was dead, and any feelings of betrayal that he felt in his final moments were irrelevant. Besides, she was now allied with the one person she wanted to protect. The least she could do was pass on, what Rakutsu had called, the greatest weapon in terms of defense.

"Anyway, we must begin talking about my plan right away. Listen closely", he instructed, "After I've explained, we'll leave this area. I spotted someone earlier that I would wish to find again, so we must be quick."

Leaning in closer, Faitsu focused all attention on him. She didn't notice how N sidled back a little, seemingly unsure of how to react to being so physically close to an ally. Putting his slight uncomfortable attitude aside, he began to explain.

"After I took care of one of my other plans, I explored the island for a while. There was somewhere I stumbled upon, although I did not enter. Inside that area, I saw something I did not expect to see. I have something in mind involving you and that unexpected sight. Please keep listening, this is where it gets important. This is what I need you to do."

Faitsu listened intently as N began to describe the plan he had in mind. She also wondered about who that other person could be. At the time, she had no idea if they would be an ally or a foe. With her thoughts completely focused on those subjects, Rakutsu had nearly been completely forgotten about by that point.

_**18 Remaining.**_


	25. Chapter 25

Several hours had passed since Blue comforted Y after the first announcement. In the time since then, the younger girl attempted to regain her composure. They talked about what they would do once they met up with the people they wanted to meet, about the absurdity of the game, and some small details about themselves in general. It wouldn't be such a stretch to call them friends after all those hours had passed.

Even though they chatted often, there was a drop in conversation shortly after the 12PM announcement. Blue had been stunned to hear Red's name on the list of the deceased, and Y recognized his name instantly. She had become worried that, after that announcement, Blue had come close to having a breakdown. While Y tried to reach out to her, the older girl smacked her hand away, and had grown pale. Despite how much she was trembling, and how panicked she looked, she didn't cry. Instead, after about fifteen minutes had passed, she raised her head and told Y that she was okay.

That strange way of dealing with her friend's death, as well as the fact Blue had been quick to push her away, had made Y cautious around her. It also made her wonder just now strong this girl could be, and perhaps ruthless, in certain situations. As much as she tried to push those thoughts away as she became friendlier towards the girl, those worries always seemed to resonate in the back of her mind.

Nevertheless, she still found herself becoming attached to the other girl. Blue was upbeat and compassionate. Y felt that, under normal circumstances, they could have become close friends. A part of Y wanted to become as close to Blue as possible, but another part of her was concerned about the brunette's devious nature. She gave off vibes that there was a side to her that she wanted to hide from Y, which kept the younger girl on her toes.

"Hey, I've been thinking", Blue spoke up nonchalantly, catching Y's attention.

"Huh? About what?" Y asked, hoping she didn't sound too spaced out. She had been lost in her thoughts for quite some time, before her ally spoke.

"Well, if this whole extra danger zone thing keeps up, then this area'll become a danger zone before we know it. They want us to keep moving, so we might as well get started now, right?" she suggested. Although she didn't mention it, Blue found herself growing bored of the supermarket.

"Hmm... Alright. I don't have much reason to object. Besides, we might find somebody if we keep moving!" Y replied, trying to get across her enthusiasm.

Hopefully someone we actually want to meet up with, Blue thought, as she gathered her things back into her daypack. She knew the number of people were dwindling, and the chances of coming across somebody who was participating was becoming higher. She tried to keep hopeful, for Y's sake as much as her own.

Once all their things were gathered together, along with extra rations of food and water, Blue and Y left the supermarket, and out into a slightly cold evening. Y tightened her grip on her mace as she walked, the spiked ball swinging with each step she took. The sun was setting, making the sky orange in colour. Despite the warm colours, the two girls felt colder as they walked further away from the store.

"Are we going to find more shelter?" Y asked in an attempt to start some small talk.

"I'm not sure... I was thinking of just walking until we found a spot we were happy to rest in. Doesn't have to be inside", Blue answered, before pausing, "Unless you want to find shelter again."

"No, no, I'm fine with staying outside. Besides, I was pretty prepared to. When I thought of going on a journey with X and the others, I prepped myself for camping outside. I'm pretty used to the outdoors now", Y said.

Remembering how quickly her journey was ruined, Y stopped talking abruptly, and instead gazed absentmindedly at the mace in her hand. Blue felt a pang of anger. It was clear that the effects of the program were weighing heavily on the girl. No teenager her age should be forced to go through this. Blue reconsidered her statement: No one at all should be forced to fight to the death.

They walked in a western direction for quite some time. Their journey was quiet, almost to a point of being awkward. Neither girl could think of any suitable conversation, and made no attempt to start small talk once more. As they walked, the wind was beginning to pick up. Y hugged herself in an attempt to stay warm, wishing she had brought a jacket with her. She figured the night would be a cold one, judging by the way things were before the sun had even fully set.

As she concentrated on staying warm, something else caught Blue's eye. To her right, something could be seen, poking out from behind a tree trunk. At first, she got her hopes up and thought that it might have been an abandoned daypack. She quickly stopped herself from hoping for that, because if there was an abandoned daypack, the most likely reason would be that its owner was dead at that stage.

Blue continued to stare in that general direction, and began to realize that it wasn't a daypack. It was a human head. What had caught Blue's eye was the person's dark brown hair, which was held high in a ponytail. She stopped walking, and continued to stare. All she wished for at that moment was for the person to make the slightest movement with her head, to do _anything, _to prove that they were still alive.

"Blue? What's the matter?" Y asked, coming to a halt as well.

She took a few steps backwards, until she was standing by Blue's side. Following the older girl's gaze, she held her breath, realizing what Blue had been staring at. Unlike the brunette, Y didn't even think of praying that the person they were staring at was alive. She was certain that they were staring at a dead body. Thankfully, most of the person had been shielded by a large tree trunk. If they had died a bloody death, it was obscured from the girls' perspective.

"Do you think it might be any of your friends?" she asked quietly. It was a blunt, almost harsh, question, but one that she needed to ask.

"No. I'm pretty sure the body belongs to a girl. Yellow has blonde hair, so I don't think it's her", Blue answered, her tone equally as soft.

Neither girl spoke for a while, and instead, they simply gazed out at the scene. After a few minutes had passed, Y looked downwards. Staring at a deceased person for this length of time wouldn't help their mental state in any way, and the last thing Y wanted was to become more on edge than she already was. She tugged on Blue's shirt, urging her to move on.

Both girls seemed to lose any motivation they had to speak on their journey forward. Y didn't feel any worse than she previously did, and instead, found herself thinking of her future within this competition. Those thoughts kept her completely occupied, and subconsciously, her pace quickened. Blue didn't seem to make any objections to her attitude for a while.

Lost in her own thoughts, Y lost her footing all of a sudden, and found herself falling forward. Considering she usually remained poised and graceful, she cursed herself for making a fool of herself in front of someone she was still getting to know. Before she could fall to the ground, however, she felt a pair of hands grip onto her own arms. Looking behind her, in a brief moment of panic, she was relieved to just see Blue standing there.

"That was close!" Blue laughed, helping her stand up properly.

"Yeah, it was. Sorry, I got caught up in my thoughts", Y mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed.

Blue shrugged it off, and continued walking. Y followed her, this time at a much slower pace. She kept that up for some time, until she suddenly saw something. When her eyes fell upon it, she began to run, and quickly surpassed Blue.

"Hey, be careful! We're near the edge of this place!" Blue called out, but Y ignored her.

Rolling her eyes, she ran to catch up with the younger girl. Y had come to a halt a few feet away from the cliff's edge. Standing by her side, she copied the blonde's earlier actions, and attempted to see what made her stop so suddenly.

As she looked out, all Blue could see was the sun setting below the horizon. The sky was a deep, orange colour, which would soon be giving away to the night. The colour of the sky reflected in the water, which was lightly rippled. It was completely silent.

"What are you staring at?" Blue asked. She had given up on trying to guess what had fascinated the girl so much, as she couldn't see anything.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Y murmured, her stare fixated on the scenery.

Blue was surprised to hear that she was just simply admiring the view out in front of her, but as hard as she looked, she wasn't able to see anything else that would've caught Y's attention. The girl never struck her as being the type to stop and admire the scenery, but she supposed that in these circumstances, it was easier to learn how to appreciate the little things in life more. Deciding not to voice her thoughts, Blue sat down, looking out at the setting sun as well.

"Yeah, it is. Do you like sunsets?" Blue asked.

"I guess so. I never really took the time out to admire one that much before, but now that I've finally done it, it's easy to see why people find them so beautiful", she commented.

They remained silent for quite a while after that. Y remained standing, gazing out at the ocean with awe in her eyes. Blue remained sitting, playing with the zip on her daypack absentmindedly as she stayed quiet. Even though there were many things weighing heavily on their minds, they were both grateful to have a moment to enjoy the peacefulness of the scenario. The things that were bothering them the most could be discussed at a later stage.

* * *

><p>Pearl had been surprised to hear the 6PM announcement. While he was sitting in the house he selected, he had been thinking nonstop. He felt no desire to eat, drink, or do anything else, other than reflect on his actions, and wonder about Dia and Platinum. His only way of knowing that time was progressing was by the fading light outside the window. By the time the announcement began, the room was almost completely dark.<p>

After hearing the name of the person who died, Pearl was tempted to finally leave the house. Considering how angry Charon sounded about the lack of deaths, he was certain that the killers would attempt to up their game before the next report. He wanted to go find Dia and Platinum before somebody else got to them first, which was beginning to look inevitable, given how many people were after dying.

Pearl's worry briefly made him forget about his deep guilt over killing. Determined to ensure his friends' safety, he finally got up, feeling that his knees were stiff upon standing up. Taking one last look around the room, he hurried out of the dark place where he had spent so many hours, wallowing in his guilt.

Bounding down the stairs, and occasionally missing steps, he felt excitement build up in his chest. By the time he reached the front door, his heart was pounding, and it took him a few seconds to regain his breath. When he brought his hand out to touch the door handle, however, he found himself hesitating.

It was then that he remembered the exact reason he chose to hide in a house for so long. As a murderer, he didn't have any right to find the people he cared about. While he wanted to find them for a good reason, Pearl remembered that he had denied Red all chances of preventing those he cared about from dying. Besides, why would Dia and Platinum even want to associate with a murderer?

Sighing defeatedly, Pearl brought his hand back to his side. It was pointless to get his hopes up. He didn't know how many times he would walk to that door, incredibly tempted to open it and search for his friends. He had to resist, however. At that point, he hadn't thought about his future in the program. If he hid for that long, and everyone else killed each other, he didn't know what he would do as the sole survivor. If he was in close vicinity with a murderer, he was unsure of whether or not he would put up a fight.

Pearl trudged back up the stairs, trying not to think about anything in particular. He was trying, and failing, to hide the fact that he was becoming more and more depressed, as time passed without knowing what was happening to his friends. While he tried to convince himself that they were more than likely to be okay, he still couldn't brush away the possibility that they may have been dying at that very moment.

Once he reached the bedroom once more, he grabbed his daypack, hugged it to his chest, and plopped down on the bed. He had no idea what he wanted to do, exactly, but his most important priority was trying to get his mind off any disturbing thoughts.

At first, Pearl unzipped his daypack, took out a bottle of water, and twisted the cap off. He was still on his first bottle, but it was only half full. After killing Red, he hadn't eaten or drank anything. It was unhealthy, but he felt absolutely no appetite for anything.

The truth was that he still didn't, but knew that he'd end up in a much more painful state if he didn't stay fed or hydrated. He hesitantly brought the bottle to his lips, and let the water slide back through his parched mouth. After taking a small sip, he put the cap back on the bottle, and put it on the nightstand.

He reached into his bag to retrieve one of the bread rolls, his hand suddenly came to a stop within the bag. It had only truly hit him then and there that he was officially without a weapon, considering he tossed the knife away once he was done with it. _Wow. I really am defenseless after all, huh? I'm practically perfect for anyone who wants to kill in this game, _he thought.

The thought of feeling completely defenseless had sent another shiver down his spine. Pearl zipped up his bag once more, no longer feeling any desire to eat whatsoever. He laid his daypack on the floor. Once he did, he rested his head against the feathery pillow beneath him.

Closing his eyes, Pearl decided the only way to feel any remote peace was by getting some rest. He wanted to sleep easily, but that didn't happen at all. He knew he could open his eyes easy and immediately at the slightest sound. Even though he couldn't consider himself fully asleep, he had finally brought himself to stop thinking about distressing topics.

As Pearl fell into a light sleep eventually, he still felt as if he didn't even deserve that simple necessity. It had been several hours since his confrontation, but he needed much more time to recover from what had happened.

**_18 Remaining._**


	26. Chapter 26

The last hour or so had been a rough one for Black. He was still fuming about hearing White's death, and for the first time since the game begun, ended up bursting into tears. The fact that his three closest friends had all been announced as dead over the course of twelve hours had taken a heavy toll on him, and hearing that White was dead was the pinnacle of horrific experiences.

At first, he hated himself for being so weak. He had no one to blame but himself, as he could have taken the opportunity to look for any of his friends throughout the game, but never took the opportunity. The truth was that he was too scared of what would happen if he ended up being the final contestant, alongside a friend. He knew that he would possibly end up killing them. He was under enough pressure as it was, and he knew it would be easy to blow his lid, at that point.

After hearing the 6PM announcement, he had taken about fifteen minutes or so to mourn her death. He had no idea how to properly react to the fact that the girl he had a crush on was dead. In a moment of pure grief, he just gripped the sides of his head, buried his head between his knees, and cried. With his knife lying beside him, Black was completely vulnerable for the first time since the game begun, but at that stage he didn't care. He attempted to keep his cool since the very start, but with his two childhood friends deceased, and his most recent friend gone as well, he felt like he had a right to mourn for a while.

By the time he finally got up, the traces of evening were nearly gone. The moment Black stood up, he almost staggered backwards. He felt lightheaded from crying so much, but tried to move past it. If he was going to get any further in this game, he had to keep moving forward.

As he walked, he kicked up some sand, trying to distract himself. He wanted to think about anything other than how disastrous this game was going so far. It was hard not to think about how furious he felt towards the supervisors of what was going on. One thing he wouldn't try to hide was his desire for revenge, if he was the one to make it out alive. They deserved any pain that came their way.

Tightening his grip on the knife, Black swung his leg upward, sending a flurry of sand up with it. He shielded his eyes from any sand that could have blown back in his face, but his attention was quickly drawn away from his action by a nervous sounding voice.

"Ah... Are you okay?"

Snapping his head up, Black tried to pin a face to the unfamiliar voice. A good few feet away from him stood a girl with her hair tied back into long pigtails. She had a startled look on her face, as if his action had taken her off guard. _How long has she been watching me?, _he wondered.

His lack of trust towards the girl grew after seeing what she was clutching in her hands. Even though he wasn't familiar with the different types of guns, it was clear that the weapon was the type of gun that would shoot him down in an instant. His knife wouldn't do anything against it. It was at that moment Black decided to keep his guard around her.

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine", he muttered.

"That's a relief to hear. I'm Faitsu, by the way. We were on the bus to the World Tournament together. I'm so relieved to come across another person from Unova", she said, sounding genuinely relieved.

Thinking back, Black could hardly remember her. He had been caught up in conversations with White, Cheren and Bianca. Due to this, he barely remembered his juniors' names, let alone their faces. Regardless of that, he did feel his guard lowering slightly upon hearing she was from Unova. Chances are she had lost somebody too.

"Right. I'm Black. Were you allied with anyone? There's still others from Unova, right?" Black asked.

He felt like he was simply making small talk at this stage, but a part of him felt as if he couldn't let another person from the same region slip away so easily. As he spoke, he slowly began to step towards her. He kept the knife raised, though. He wasn't naive, or quick to trust.

"I was... He was one of my classmates. Rakutsu. But he's..." Faitsu said, her tone becoming shakier. She walked towards him too, except with her gun lowered. _Looks like she trusts me, at least, _Black thought.

Then, a much worse thought occurred to him. The fact that Faitsu was referring to this Rakutsu boy in the past tense was a heavy indicator that something had happened to him. If that was the case, then that meant another person from Unova had died. With that trend, Black or Faitsu might not make it to see the 6AM announcement.

Just as he was about to ask what happened, he saw how Faitsu began to open her mouth, but this was accompanied by another action. She began to lift the gun, the barrel of it pointing towards him.

_Fuck, she's not on my side at all- She's going to kill me!_

"You see, Rakutsu-" she began to speak, still sounding slightly nervous. She didn't get a chance to continue.

Before she could raise the gun fully, or even bring her finger close to the trigger, Black struck his right arm forward. The knife, which he had been gripping onto for all it was worth, was thrust into Faitsu's wrist. Dragging it across her arm, her grip loosened on the gun, and she let out a wretched scream.

Grunting, Black removed the knife, shoving it back beneath his belt. He bent down to pick up the gun, his blood pounding in his ears. Faitsu's scream had been deafening, leading to a brief case of his ears ringing. None of that concerned him. All that mattered at that moment was picking up the gun, and taking down the girl who had been ready to attack him. That was all his mind was focused on at that moment.

When his hand brushed against the gun, however, it was also met with another hand. The other person quickly batted Black's hand away roughly, and they grabbed the gun. Judging by the lack of blood, and the fact Faitsu could still be seen standing, it was clear that it was somebody else.

Standing upright, Black staggered backwards. The person who was then holding the Ingram was N. He briefly glanced down at the gun, over at Faitsu, and then back at Black.

"You acted viciously against my ally", he stated, almost too calmly.

Black almost laughed. _Ally. _Of _course _he would run into the one person who would be gullible enough to become N Harmonia's ally. He praised himself internally for attacking her when he had the chance. He knew that there would be horrendous consequences for that, but at this point, he barely cared. It had been some attack towards Team Plasma.

He glanced over briefly at Faitsu. She was still clutching her arm. The sleeve of her shirt was soaked in blood, and the young girl whimpered as she attempted to stop the wound from bleeding anymore. Barely caring about that gullible girl, Black turned back towards N. Holding his arms out, he shrugged almost carelessly, and smiled. That caused N's eyebrows to furrow, and he frowned deeply.

"What, you're playing? There's a surprise. I bet you can't wait to get rid of me, can you?!" Black taunted.

With that, N raised the gun, and squeezed his finger on the trigger. A spray of bullets exited it, but they ended up hitting nothing but boulders. Black had begun to run by the time N had put his finger on the trigger. Running to the right of where he previously stood, he ignored any urges to stop and regain his breath.

The main island was coming into sight. He was prepared to leap up onto the grass, and run as far as he could, perhaps into the forest, where he wouldn't be spotted. No matter what, his main goal was to tire N. It would take a while, and certainly use up most of his energy, but it was a risk he had to take.

As he approached the grassy hill that led back up to the main island, he heard the gun rattle once more. This time, however, Black felt a searing pain. It ranged from his upper arms to his back. The sudden surge of bullets entering his body caused him to stumble forward, causing the boy to land face first into the grass.

Even though he was deeply wounded, and knew that he had ruined his chances severely, he still refused to give up. Without any hesitation, he moved his body. Once he was laying on his back, he sat up, and shakily, Black stood up once more. N was still only feet away from him, still holding the gun up. His expression was unreadable, but it could easily be assumed that he was surprised and annoyed by how quickly Black had gotten back up.

Faitsu stayed further behind him, watching the scene quietly. Her eyebrows were slightly raised, but she observed the scene with no apparent shock or horror. _This isn't the first time she's seen something like this, _he thought.

"You gave a much stronger fight than White. I didn't have this gun at the time, but if I did, she wouldn't have gotten back up after being shot by any amount of bullets. While she was preferable in personality, you are the stronger trainer, after all", N observed.

In that brief moment, Black forgot all about the way his internal organs were feeling, or the fact he was bleeding to death. It was replaced with complete and utter resentment for the man in front of him. _I should have figured, _he thought. There were so many potential things he could have said in reply to N, but he knew that was exactly what he wanted, and Black refused to give him that satisfaction.

Instead, he took three strides forward, until he was standing right in front of the green-haired man. Reaching into his belt, one thought occurred to him: _This is the least I can do for you, White. I'm sorry. _

Grunting, Black removed the knife from his belt, and thrust it forward. It was a much weaker movement than when he attacked Faitsu, but given the fact he was dying, it was the best he could do.

The knife lightly tore a small section of N's shirt, and then it hit another material. In any other circumstances, Black would have attempted to push the knife in further, but that movement alone had used up most of his energy. He let his arms fall weakly by his side.

The gun was pointed at him once more. N stared down at him, showing absolutely no reaction to the boy's attempt at stabbing him. Black glared back up at him pointedly, gritting his teeth to prevent his heavy breathing. He wanted to show that he remained prevalent and stubborn in his final moments. It was the the only thing he could do that would make himself happy, considering everything else had fallen to hell since.

Not taking much notice of Black's furious expression, N squeezed on the trigger once more, and a new stream of bullets entered the younger boy's body.

Black fell once more. This time, though, he was dead before he hit the ground. His upper body had bullet holes ranging from left to right. Blood had completely covered his jacket. His eyes were rolled upwards, and his face was quickly losing colour. None of these aspects of his appearance would ever be a concern to him again, though. The boy who wanted to fight for his life had officially been defeated.

N stared down at his body for an extra few seconds, and then turned back to Faitsu. Her sleeve was soaked in blood, and she was clutching her wound once more. While she had been observing N's confrontation with Black with curiosity, she could no longer ignore her wound.

Peeling his eyes away from the body, N jogged over to her side, and began to pull her along by her left arm. Faitsu frowned, wanting to keep on clutching her wound, but understood that her leader knew what to do.

"He really hurt me, my Lord. I really wasn't expecting him to do that..." Faitsu commented, her voice slightly strained.

N looked down at her, and managed to turn his lips up into something like a smile.

"I don't understand either, but we can use that to our advantage. It'll give you a reason to begin our plan, won't it? Do not worry, your wound will be treated soon. When we get off this island, together, it will seem like the most insignificant thing in the world."

**_17 Remaining._**


	27. Chapter 27

At 10PM, the clinic was lit up only by candle light. Sapphire had scoured the area early to find any sources of light, wanting to avoid using the main switches as much as possible. Luckily, there had been about forty candles stored in one of the cupboards in the waiting room. At 8PM, each member of the group had taken to lighting up candles around different parts of the clinic.

X, who was sitting in the furthest corner of the waiting room, watched one of the candles in the window. Yellow wax was dripping down the window pane slowly, and quickly hardened. The light barely illuminated his face. He continued to stare at the tiny source of light and warmth, ignoring the banter going on around him. Emerald was sitting two seats away from him, and chatting animatedly with Ruby and Sapphire, who were sitting opposite them.

The trio from Hoenn had been acting like excited little kids ever since they reunited. Judging by the way they acted, it was almost as if they forgot that they were in a competition where they could easily die at any moment.

Still, X had decided not to judge them for their out-of-place actions. At the end of the day, they were merely expressing their joy that accompanied meeting with one another once more. Anyone would be relieved upon finding out that all of their friends were okay in this type of scenario, so they had a reason to act the way they were acting. Besides, who was X to judge that?

As he continued to stare at the candle light, X suddenly heard the third door open. Emerald, Ruby and Sapphire stopped talking, and looked over. In the faint light, they could make out Kris' outline, as well as the fact that she seemed to be carrying quite a lot in her arms. The smell, which slowly began to fill the room, heavily suggested that she had made food for everyone.

Seeing that Kris was struggling to uphold all five dishes, Ruby jumped up from his chair, and ran over to her. He took a few of the bowls, and they walked over to the waiting corner. Kris laid three of the dishes on the coffee table, and Ruby copied her actions.

"Huh? What're you after making?" Emerald asked curiously, leaning over the bowl.

"Chowder. It isn't anything remarkable, but I think it was the best possible thing I could make with the ingredients in the doctor's office. It tastes pretty good, too!" Kris explained, taking a seat in between Emerald and X.

"I'm happy with _anything. _That bread's the blandest stuff I've ever tasted", Sapphire commented, picking up her bowl and putting it in her lap.

Ruby and X simply thanked her, the latter speaking much more softly than the former. With that, they began to eat. Sapphire could be heard above everyone else, causing Ruby to stare at her with wide eyes.

"What?" she asked, through a mouthful of chowder.

"You always manage to shock me. That's all", he replied, before taking a sip of his own meal.

She rolled her eyes, and looked like she wanted to make some snarky comment in return, but went on eating instead. Emerald watched the scene with some amusement. Kris furrowed her brows, unsure what she should make of their interactions.

Kris and Emerald began to speak shortly after that exchange, with Ruby and Sapphire pitching in occasional comments. As they spoke, Kris occasionally glanced over at X. He was eating his own food quietly and slowly, and seemed to barely acknowledge that the others were talking to one another.

Once they were finished eating, Sapphire shoved her bowl back up onto the coffee table. Kris stood up, gathering three of the bowls. Ruby half-rose from his seat, before the older girl shook her head.

"You stay sitting, Ruby", she instructed, and then turned to X, "Can you come help me instead?"

Ruby sat down once more, slightly confused by her random selection. He quickly got over that confusion, and seemed pleased to stay by Sapphire's side for longer. X looked equally confused, and hesitantly rose from his seat. Without any protest, he took up the two remaining bowls. Kris looked gratefully at him, and turned around. X followed her into the examination room.

They took a turn down another door, which led into the doctor's office, which was much more spacious than X would have assumed it to be. Kris approached the sink, and dropped the dishes inside it. He followed suit, and prepared to turn on the top, when her hand stopped his.

"I'm sorry for calling you out here, but I want to talk to you. Can you please stay and listen?" Kris revealed, looking him directly in the eyes.

X felt slightly intimidated by being stared at so intensely, but quickly put aside those feelings of intimidation. It finally made sense as to why she was specific about who would help her clean up, but he also felt a sense of nervousness. He had to wonder what he had done to make Kris want to call him out and talk to him. Nevertheless, he nodded.

"Are you unhappy here, X? If you truly don't believe we can form a plan to escape, please just tell me. I don't want you feeling uncomfortable and unhappy around us", she prompted, her tone gentle and kind.

The younger boy stared at her for several seconds. He had to admit that out of everyone in the clinic, he found himself most drawn to her. Kris was trying her best to be welcoming, but not to an extent where it came off as pushy. If he was going to open up to anyone, it wouldn't be so bad if it was her. X had to admit it; he had come to trust her.

"I really don't know about the plan. Right now, with the way our group is... It seems unlikely", he admitted.

"I see... I really wish I could change your mind, but I do agree. We should wait until more people join us before we can decide on a definitive plan. But even then, if you don't think it'll work, would you prefer to leave, than to stay cooped up here?"

"Wait, no. I don't want that, exactly. If I leave this place, I don't know what I'll do next. Before Emerald found me, I was planning on..." X said, his tone gradually growing quieter. He didn't want to finish his last sentence. It would be the first time he admitted that out loud.

Kris' eyes grew wide, realizing what he was getting at. While she did believe Emerald when he said that the black-haired boy was in a mentally unwell state, she didn't think it would be to the extent where he was fully ready to kill himself. She laid her hands on his arms.

"I'm grateful you chose to stay with us, then. We're all here for you, and I hope you know that", she told him firmly, determined to get her point across.

X flinched, surprised by the sudden physical contact, and stern tone from the typically calm girl. What surprised him the most, however, was how much she sounded like she genuinely cared about him. Despite the fact that they had been total strangers up until earlier that day, Kris still appeared truly concerned upon hearing what he was originally planning to do. It had been a long time since he had felt that touched.

"Thank you", he murmured, unsure of what else to say.

Giving a small nod, Kris smiled once more, and took her hands off his arms. She folded her arms over her chest, continuing to stare at the younger boy for a few moments. He stared back in confusion, wondering if there was something else he needed to talk about. Finally, he spoke instead, growing uncomfortable with the silence.

"This is kind of unrelated, but I can't understand how those three are able to act so... _happy. _It's like they haven't even acknowledged we're in this horrible situation. I mean, it's good to see them so happy, and I don't mean to sound bitter, but I'm just confused, I suppose", X rambled.

"I know it doesn't look like it, but I think Ruby and Sapphire are incredibly scared. I'm certain that Emerald is much more afraid than he's letting onto be. Believe me, you aren't alone in feeling like you are", Kris replied.

"I'm still not sure about that. Just seeing the way they interact, it's almost like it's in a whole other world. The only way I can actually tell they're partaking in the same contest is because of these things", X said.

He pulled down the collar of his jacket, revealing the metal band around his neck underneath. Ruby's collar was barely visible due to his choice of clothing, but Sapphire's and Emerald's necks were constantly revealed. Throughout the day, X found his eyes wandering to their necks as they chatted and laughed, reminding him that they were just as prone to death as he was.

"I know it's hard to do, but try to ignore the collars for now. To be honest, I would be so happy to see you interact with the others more! We're a group now, and if you're willing to stay, I'd love to see you included in all our activities too. Only if you're up to it, of course", Kris quickly added the last part, not wanting to come off as controlling.

"I... I'll try to talk more, but that's as far as I can go for now", X said, before looking down at his feet. A hint of a smile could be seen on his lips. "Besides, I'm certain Y would be delighted to see me doing something other than mope around."

Kris smiled at that last comment, and gave his arm a light tug. He followed her out of the doctor's office, closely following her in step. While he still felt remains of anxiousness due to suddenly being called out, it felt much better to have everything off his mind. While he still felt more pessimistic than anything else, it provided him with some bit of hope that this girl was there for him.

Once they approached the waiting room once more, the three teenagers from Hoenn raised their heads, looking over curiously. Kris took a seat beside Emerald, and X sat beside Sapphire on the opposite side. They had stopped talking briefly once the duo re-entered the room, but quickly sparked up conversation again.

While X didn't exactly partake in conversation, he merely nodded along, catching Sapphire's attention. Occasionally, Kris asked if he agreed on certain topics, and he would simply affirm his agreement. Slowly, the Hoenn trio began talking to him more, surprised to see the previously quiet boy speak up every now and then.

He quickly found that their presence wasn't overbearing. Their conversation was pleasant and peaceful, and he no longer found himself feeling baffled by how lighthearted the Hoenn trio appeared to be. In fact, he was beginning to embrace it, realizing it was the perfect way to stop focusing on the possibility of dying at any sudden moment.

For the first time since he heard about his friends' deaths earlier that morning, he felt like he could befriend people once more. If Kris' plan did manage to succeed, X decided that he would be more than content surviving with this group. They managed to make him feel included, despite being a stranger. He was beginning to note each of their individual personalities, and found himself being drawn to them.

For the first time since he arrived at the clinic, X felt complete and utter relief that he didn't choose to kill himself all those hours ago.

**_17 Remaining._**


	28. Chapter 28

Ever since they had started walking away from Black's body, Faitsu's state seemed to worsen as they kept moving. Her breathing was becoming shallow, and her face had become pale. Her left hand was white from gripping the wound in her right arm so hard. It was difficult to keep walking in a straight line.

Nevertheless, she tried to refrain from showing too much suffering. The last thing she wanted was to bring a halt to N's plans. Even though she was in a tremendous amount of pain, more than she had ever experienced in her thirteen years, N still remained her top priority. She decided that she would attempt to withstand any amount of pain to help him progress forward.

Thinking this, Faitsu tried to catch up with N once more. He had been walking ahead slightly for some time, but she understood. She had been walking at a slow pace, due to how lightheaded she felt. Upon hearing quickened footsteps behind him, N turned around. He immediately noted that the girl was in a desperate state to try and keep up with him, and trying not to be a burden. He was slightly impressed by her determination, but also knew that if she over-exerted herself, his plan could be brought to an abrupt halt.

He turned back around and walked over to her side, gently clutching her arm. She looked up at him in surprise, but didn't object. Walking on silently, N wondered whether or not he was applying too much pressure on her arm, but decided not to ask. Faitsu looked down, wondering if she had some something in particular to make N rush to her side.

"Lord N, I think I can manage on my own. Please, keep moving forward. I don't want to hold you back", Faitsu urged him, feeling slightly guilty about all of this.

"I don't believe that's the truth. That boy hurt you badly, and we've been walking for quite some time. It's only natural that you would begin to feel weak, and as one of my sub-ordinates, I should help you along", he replied, continuing to look straight ahead.

Faitsu smiled at that last comment. Even though N had done some things in this game that would be considered shocking and immoral, he still wanted to look out for those who deserved to be looked out for. With that, she silently accepted his explanation, and continued walking.

"We should be approaching the area soon. I shall keep an eye on what happens from a nearby area. I may leave briefly, so don't rush yourself. If I do choose to leave, do not be alarmed. I'll return soon. In that retrospect, my chances of running into fatal danger are much higher than yours are going to be. So, I shall keep the bulletproof vest, for safety measures", N explained.

"I was expecting you to. I gave it to you to keep, after all", Faitsu replied. Her tone was gradually getting weaker and quieter as she spoke.

N pressed his lips into a thin line upon hearing how weak she was beginning to sound. He decided that there was no reason to be concerned, as she should be okay in a matter of time. Of course, he was still annoyed to an extent. Leave it up to Black to ruin one of the key components in his plan.

"You'll be keeping the Ingram. You need a powerful weapon, and it fits that role perfectly. You used it well against Rakutsu, but I doubt you're in the correct state for more training. _Do not _use that until your arm feels useable. It might ruin everything if you try. Do you understand?" N asked. Faitsu nodded a few times.

"What if something does go wrong?" she asked quietly.

"Run out of there as quickly as possible, and call out my name. I should be there. Do not worry, though, I have complete faith in you. Are you beginning to feel hesitant about this plan?"

"Of course not! I'm willing to go to any lengths!" she retaliated, speaking with much more strength than she did in a while.

When N noticed that she was beginning to sway once more, he caught her arm and continued walking in a northern direction for a while. Faitsu's wound was no longer bleeding, thankfully, but they both knew that they would have to hurry up and get it treated as soon as possible.

As they approached the sector N wanted her to go to, he came to a halt. Faitsu was surprised by the sudden halt, and stared up at him. He let go of her arm, and took a step back.

"If I go any further, I may be spotted. Please try to manage from this point onwards. I'll be observing your progress from these bushes. We'll meet again soon", N told her, and continued to walk away.

Faitsu watched him helplessly for a moment. All she had wanted since this game begun was to remain by N's side, and to defend him from all possible threats. It had been a huge relief to see he was well and alive, and it hurt to be separated from him again so quickly. It was still a huge honour to be a part of his plans, so she decided she would accept this. Besides, he had promised that they would meet again.

"Goodbye, my Lord!" she called out.

N raised a hand as he continued to walk. Faitsu watched him for a few extra moments, and then continued onwards, gripping onto her daypack. The wound still stung, but she knew that wouldn't last much longer. Besides, she had more important things to concentrate on at that point.

* * *

><p>Silver wasn't exactly sure when it had gotten so dark. At 10.30PM, his two allies' faces were much more difficult to make out than they were earlier that day. Ever since Gold's little pep talk, their conversations had been upheld regularly. Since the 6PM announcement, there had been a few times where gunshots resonated throughout the island, causing their conversations to abruptly stop. It was difficult to begin talking again after that.<p>

Although they continued talking after the second round of gunshots, Silver was deeply bothered by something. It was more than likely that at least one person was dead. It was frustrating to know that they would be in the dark about who it was for another hour and a half. The most frustrating thing was not knowing whether or not their own friends were okay. Thinking of the possibility of Blue dying brutally as a result of those gunshots was deeply disturbing to him. As much as he tried, Silver couldn't get that image out of his mind.

"Hey, Silver. You've been quiet for a while. You alright?" Gold asked, giving his friend a slight nudge.

He quickly came back to his senses. Instead of answering Gold verbally, he shrugged his shoulders. Even in the darkness, he was able to make out that gesture was met with both of his allies frowning. Green looked a little annoyed.

"If there's something bothering you, tell us. There's no point in keeping secrets now, anyway", he said.

Silver fidgeted for a few moments. This brief moment of silence caused Gold and Green to stare at him intently, now certain that something was bothering him. After deciding on how to word what he wanted to say, Silver spoke up once more.

"We're huge idiots for just sitting around and _waiting _for people to come to us. We only came here to hide from people who actually want to kill, right? Then what are we going to do about the people we want to find? I don't want to just sit around and wait around for the announcement telling us that our friends are dead. We need to start looking for people", he said.

After getting that off his chest, Silver let out a sigh of relief. Green and Gold glanced at each other. The truth was that they secretly agreed with him. As they sat around and talked, they knew that it didn't help their chances of finding their friends at all. Silver was right; if they wanted to find the others, they would actually need to take action to do so.

"I get what you mean. But are you implying that we should all split up to look for the others? If that's the case, then meeting up again might be some trouble", Green said.

"I didn't really think that far ahead, but maybe we could all agree to meet up at a time in a particular sector, if that's a problem."

"Wait, I don't know about that. What about our weapons? Me and Silver would be okay, since we got a stun gun and a baseball bat, but that means Green would have to go out on his own with nothing to defend himself with. How about two of us stay behind, and one of us goes out and looks for the others?" Gold interrupted.

"Isn't it equally dangerous to let one person go alone?!" Silver protested.

"No, wait. He has a point. We'd all split up anyway, but it'd be safer for two of us to remain together at least. How about this; by 10AM tomorrow, the person _has _to be back by then. If not, the two others go searching for the missing person. If he has allies, good. If not, we can at least say we tried", Green said.

Silver felt slightly frustrated that Green seemed to agree with Gold on the matter. He felt anxious about the possibility of the chosen person running into someone who was playing the game, and losing their life. He already knew that he would blame himself if someone from the group were to die, considering he was the one to bring it up. Quickly, he tried to get rid of any hesitant thoughts. _At least we're all in agreement on finding others for now. It's better than waiting around to hear their names in the reports._

"I've been really worried about Kris and the others for a while now. I want to go look for them."

Raising his head, Silver looked over in shock at Gold. He hadn't even begun to think of who could possibly go and leave the others behind, but he had offered himself up so easily. Either he was much stupider than Silver originally thought, or he had seriously underestimated how much Gold was willing to go through to ensure the safety of those he cared about.

"That's decided, then. I though that would be a lot harder", Green said, leaning back slightly.

"Hey, no it's not! What if-" Silver began to protest, when Gold suddenly squeezed his arm.

"What, do you think you're the only one worried about what's going on out there?! I have people I care about too, you know", he snapped.

Silver looked like he was torn between retaliating, or apologizing for being insensitive. The last thing Gold wanted was to start fighting, especially since there was a possibility that the next while could be the last time he ever spent with his friend. He softened his grip, and grinned.

"I'll look out especially for Blue, I promise. We'll return together, and figure something out. Sound good?" he said.

Unable to speak, Silver nodded. He knew as well as Gold did that this could easily be a suicide mission. A part of him still wanted to stubbornly insist on going instead of Gold, but he knew that the older boy could be equally as stubborn once he set his mind on something. Hearing that Gold wanted to find Blue made him feel a little more accepting of it, but all he could do was hope that he stuck through to his word.

Green watched the scene between the two boys, and knew that it would be difficult for them to say goodbye to one another. He had no desire to offer himself up instead. He _did _want to find Blue, but he didn't know if he could take going through the same process as he did with Red earlier that day. Even if he ended up hating himself for it later, he knew he needed more time before he could begin searching for people again.

"I... don't really want to leave right now. Can we leave it for another while, at least? We can discuss exactly what I should do, if you guys want", Gold said.

The idea of abandoning his two allies, especially Silver, still felt overwhelming. He wanted to make the most of whatever time they had left together, before venturing out into unknown dangers. Neither Green nor Silver seemed to have any objections to that one request. With that, the topic was briefly dropped, and Gold tried to make the most of whatever time he had left with the other two.

* * *

><p>"And so that's when we... uh..." Diamond stammered, bowing his head down.<p>

His eyelids began to droop, and the rice ball he was holding began to slip from his hand. Platinum reached out to catch it from falling into the hay, her hand briefly brushing against his. That caused him to blink several times, trying to keep awake.

"Diamond, do you need to rest? I've enjoyed listening to these stories immensely, but you seem awfully tired..." Platinum said.

As much as he wanted to, Diamond couldn't deny how tired he felt. He hadn't slept since the game had begun, as much as he tried. After meeting with Platinum, he had kept her mind off darker topics by talking about lighthearted events that had occurred outside of the program.

When gunshots could be heard outside, he grew silent for several moments, and Platinum found herself gripping onto his sleeve for comfort. He tried to keep talking after the gunshots, but found that it was difficult to at times. Also, it didn't help that he was getting increasingly more exhausted.

"I'm okay..." Diamond muttered, rubbing his eyes. Platinum shook her head briskly.

"If you're tired, please don't hide it. I'm stronger than I look. I can watch out for any danger, so please just rest", she insisted.

Diamond hesitated for a few moments, but then laid down in the hay, using his daypack as a pillow. In this type of scenario, he thought it would be incredibly difficult to try and get to sleep. His mind was full of thoughts about how he and Platinum would cope if they found out those gunshots were fired at Pearl, and various other worrying thoughts, but he found that as the minutes passed, those thoughts were fading.

Eventually, they were completely out of his mind, and he ended up falling fast asleep. Normally, he would have been awake for much longer, but exhaustion won out over his worries. Seconds alter, he was snoring softly, and his hands were clutching the rough hay. He didn't stir.

As Diamond slept, Platinum's gaze lingered on him. She had appreciated his efforts to keep her entertained for the previous few hours, even if it seemed to be difficult in places. While she did immensely enjoy his stories, she mainly just took in how wonderful it was to hear his voice, and to know that one of her two best friends was right there, laying beside her.

_If Pearl was here, we might have been the most content group on this island, _she thought, frowning. Platinum knew that, as long as Pearl's fate remained a mystery, she and Diamond couldn't be fully happy. They were meant to be a trio, and having one person missing felt horribly wrong.

However, she didn't dwell on it as much as she did earlier that day. Her ridiculous idea had brought a halt to her plans of finding Pearl, but she also began to appreciate Diamond's presence more, considering he was the one to stop her. _If it wasn't for this boy, I might have been just another body gunned down by now._

She shuddered at that thought, but quickly put it out of her mind. Instead, she continued to look down at Diamond. Luckily, he appeared to be in peace as he slept, with no horrid nightmares or disturbing thoughts to plague his mind.

That was one quality Platinum admired about Diamond. He always seemed to try to remain calm, no matter how horrible their situation may have been. Also, he always put in so much effort to make sure Platinum was as happy with her situation as possible, no matter where they were.

"You truly do care about me, don't you?" she whispered, smiling a little.

She brought her hand down to his ear, and tucked in a stray strand of short hair behind it. Diamond let out a small mumble in his sleep, but didn't stir otherwise. That small sound caused Platinum to bring her hand back to her lap, feeling her face grow hot. _What am I doing?_

Putting aside her embarrassed thoughts, she continued to gaze down at him, thinking back on all the times he had tried to look out for her. After a few more seconds had passed, she reached into her daypack, and picked up her sickle once more.

Platinum stood up with the weapon, glancing outside the barn door. It was too dark to make out any figures, but she decided she would stay alert nonetheless. She had promised Diamond he could keep on sleeping while she looked out for him, and she intended to stick to that. She couldn't let herself simply sit there and continue staring at him. Thinking back on how her behaviour had been, Platinum blushed once more. She could barely understand why she did.

_What's the matter with me?, _she thought, shaking her head once more. Trying to get her mind off her strange behaviour, Platinum continued to stare out at the darkened island.

**_17 Remaining._**


	29. Chapter 29

The group of five that remained in the clinic continued chatting happily for quite a while. With X contributing more, any sense of tension that hung in the air seemed to be briefly suspended. It was a pleasant atmosphere, and a huge comfort to everyone in the room. Having these sort of peaceful, even joyful, moments seemed like a huge privilege.

Briefly zoning out from the conversation, Kris' eyes wandered around the room. She didn't have any idea what her allies were talking about at that moment, and all she could make out was the occasional laugh from one of the Hoenn Dexholders. Her mind wandered through the same various topics she had run through several times since the game begun. These thoughts mainly consisted of potential plans to escape the island, how Gold and Silver were doing, and whether or not they would be able to form a good plan. Even though she tried not to show it, Kris' mind was constantly filled with those kind of thoughts.

Almost as soon as she started zoning out, however, her thoughts were quickly interrupted. Usually, it would be due to Emerald or Ruby trying to recapture her attention, but this time, it was something completely different. It even caused the other four to cease talking.

The doorknob of the entrance was rattling. Someone was trying to open it.

At that moment, all the peace and lightheartedness in the atmosphere evaporated. X proceeded to blow out the candles that were nearby. Ruby instinctively moved in front of Sapphire, watching the door intently. Emerald wasted no time in grabbing his shotgun, which was on the table. He aimed it towards the door, prepared for a potential enemy.

Kris slowly rose from her seat, unsure of whether or not she should walk towards the front door. In the end, she stayed standing, poised beside Emerald, who remained seated upright and tense. Everyone in the room remained silent, and stared at the door. A few seconds later, it finally opened.

A girl with her hair bundled into two long pigtails stumbled in the door, her right arm soaked in blood. She was cradling her daypack in her free arm, head down. The girl appeared to be breathing heavily, as if it was a struggle to do so. Leaving the door open, she dropped her daypack onto the floor.

Emerald immediately put the gun down, his concentrated expression turning to one of panic. Kris immediately ran over to the girl, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"When did this happen to you?! Come with me", she instructed, beginning to walk towards the third door.

"Um... A few hours ago, I think. Who's following us?" the girl asked in return, her tone soft.

Kris looked over her shoulder. X remained a few feet behind her, following them uncertainly. She ushered him forward, hoping to get all the help she could obtain for this girl. They entered the room, which was shrouded in darkness. X flipped the light switch on, illuminating the room much more effectively than the candles managed to do.

"That's X. We're all allies here, so you don't need to worry. The most important thing right now is treating that wound. Are you in any pain right now?" Kris asked.

"It's been throbbing for the last while now. It doesn't hurt as much as it initially did, at least."

Once they approached the table in the center of the room, Kris helped the girl sit up on top of it. X hurried in after them into the room, and stood by the table. After that, Kris rushed to retrieve one of the many first aid kits stacked up nearby. She carried one over, and opened it. She pulled out a few cotton balls, and a bottle of disinfectant.

"X, can you roll up her sleeve?" she requested.

Nodding, the black-haired boy gently lifted the sleeve, peeling it away from the wound. After the difficult bit was over, he rolled the sleeve upwards, until it was rolled past her elbow. The of three of them looked down at the wound, curious to see how bad the damage was.

It had stopped bleeding at some stage, and there appeared to be dry blood surrounding the messy line. The wound had yet to scab over, leaving a chance for it to be disinfected. Kris let out a sigh of relief at that, while the younger two winced at how gaudy the cut looked.

"I have to warn you, this is going to sting", Kris warned. After receiving a consenting nod, she turned to X. "Could you hold her arm out? And try talking to her while I disinfect this. She'll probably need to distract herself."

X bit his lip, feeling uncertain of his social skills. Nevertheless, he complied with her first request, and held the girl's arm out. Kris opened the bottle and dabbed some of the liquid onto the first cotton ball. When she pressed it against the top of the cut, the girl let out a small hiss. X took that as his cue to begin distracting her.

"What's your name?" he asked, struggling to find anything better to open with.

"Faitsu. I'm from Unova", she replied, clearly trying to keep her voice steady, as Kris ran the cotton ball down her arm.

"Um... Anything else you want us to know? Tell us what happened before you woke up in the classroom."

"Nothing in particular... My two classmates and I were invited to watch the Pokemon World Tournament, along with a few of our seniors. We were taking a bus to the arena. The blonde girl fell asleep all of a sudden, and then I must've drifted off too. It's not a very exciting story", Faitsu explained.

"Me and my friends were invited on an outing too. I wouldn't consider any of this exciting, though", X said, trying to find a way to reply.

It was strange; he found himself opening up to this girl more easily than he expected. Then again, it must have been simple, given the fact that they both possibly felt the exact same way about this death game. It was easier to talk to people when he was certain they could relate to his situation.

Kris tried to hide a smile. X was clearly beginning to open up more since their conversation, which relieved her immensely. While she still didn't believe that he trusted her idea of escaping fully, she was certain that he was beginning to trust his ability to talk to people.

Her main concern, though, at that moment was treating the girl in front of her. Given the fact that Faitsu said she had been wandering around the island for a few hours, all Kris could do was hope she disinfected the wound in time. If she didn't, things could get messy at a later stage, but at least she had taken the safety precautions that were needed.

Discarding the cotton ball, she reached into the safety kit for a needle and roll of thread. Faitsu looked at Kris and flinched, upon seeing the sharp needle. The older girl wanted to reassure her that everything would be okay, she knew that it had been years since she had used a needle and thread, and it hadn't been for stitches. While she assumed it would be easy enough to grasp after her work on clothes, the amount of time that had passed since she used the objects worried her.

"A-Are you okay?" Faitsu asked hesitantly.

Kris looked up, unaware of the fact that she had been staring down frustratedly at the needle and thread. Before she could answer, X suddenly reached over and took the objects out of her hands. Both girls looked in confusion at the boy, but he didn't let go of the essential equipment.

"I never stitched up a cut before, but Shauna taught me how to patch up holes in clothes, using these. I could try it", he offered quietly. He looked a little down after mentioning Shauna's name, but Kris quickly tried to fix that.

"Sure! How kind of you. I'll hold her arm out", she said, taking a hold of Faitsu's arm.

The young girl let out a small whimper when X first pierced her arm with the needle. He barely took any notice. His full concentration was poured into the smooth movement between the needle and her arm, slowly closing up the cut that Black had caused. Faitsu didn't let out another sound as the process continued, and instead watched him with fascination. Kris appeared to be doing the same.

For the first time since X had joined them at the clinic, he truly did look calm, even content. At that moment, nothing else seemed to matter but the process of patching up something that had been damaged. It began to occur to Kris that, if they got off the island and helped X to get through the trauma of his past, he would be completely passionate about helping others, in the way he was helping this practical stranger. Kris felt ashamed that she had completely underestimated how sympathetic he could be.

Just before X could ask for a small pair of scissors to cut the remaining thread away from Faitsu's stitches, the door to the room burst open once more. The trio snapped their heads in that direction, only to see Sapphire, Ruby and Emerald standing there. Sapphire stood at the front, still holding onto the doorknob. Ruby was clutching her shoulder, and Emerald was almost hidden behind her waist.

"Is she alright?!" Sapphire asked. Faitsu looked over, surprised.

"I'm okay. Were you worried?" she questioned in return.

"Well, _yeah. _You just burst into this place with blood all over your arm. We had to check on you after a while, y'know", Emerald cut in, talking as if their concern was the most obvious thing in the world.

Before Faitsu could reply, she flinched a little upon feeling X cut the remaining thread out of her arm. After the other three saw him do so, Ruby walked over to the table, examining the younger boy's work.

"You're pretty good at this! Are you familiar with stitching items?" he said, sounding impressed.

"Just a little", X mumbled, looking a little embarrassed.

Ignoring the scene between them, Kris reached into the first aid kit, and pulled out a roll of gauze. As the others continued chatting, she began to bandage Faitsu's arm. The young girl also remained quiet, but there was still an awful lot Kris wanted to know.

"What weapon did you-" she began, but was quickly interrupted.

"A machine gun. Sorry, we had to check. It looks pretty scary", Sapphire cut in.

Faitsu frowned upon hearing that the other three had looked through her bag without permission, and Kris didn't look too happy to hear that either. Still, neither girl scolded her on it, and instead, continued to talk.

"Okay, we need to establish something important. Who did this to you?" she asked sternly, giving the girl's arm a gentle tug.

At first, Faitsu didn't reply. She kept her head lowered, and bit her lip. Everyone else in the room grew quiet, watching her. It had been something that had bothered them ever since she rushed in, and they had been more than a little curious about the answer.

"N. He's decided to kill. He tried to hurt me, but I ran away. I didn't want to kill", she answered softly, pulling her arm away from Kris and hugging herself.

No one in the room was surprised to hear that N was playing the game. They almost expected him to. N and Lance had been brought into the game to help kill the others, and although none of them said it, they all believed that the murders so far had been caused by those two.

"How did you escape?" Ruby asked, leaning in.

"I pointed my weapon at him after he cut me, and he backed off. I don't know why he thought I'd be able to fire it, but I'm just glad he ended up leaving me alone, in the end. Then I just kept running until I ended up here", she said, refusing to look at any of them.

"That means that he's probably still out there somewhere. Faitsu, I don't mean to worry you, but if he finds out you came here, he'll try and attack all of us. I want someone to operate as lookout. There's a balcony up above, so one of you will stay up there for... an hour, let's say, and then we'll switch. Faitsu, can we use your weapon for lookout duty?" Kris said, turning towards the young girl.

"Go ahead."

"Thank you. Remember; if any of you see N, try to maim him. Or, kill him on sight if you can, especially if he's a threat to all the other people on this island", she continued, sounding more than a little uncertain about the last part.

Then, there were a few minutes of silence. Everyone in the room was waiting for somebody else to take initiative in lookout duty. After hearing the last part of Kris' instructions, everyone was a little hesitant. It would be difficult to bring themselves to kill, even if N had done some horrible things.

"I can do it. X, please keep an eye on Faitsu's arm, in case anything happens", Kris instructed.

She stood up, and began to walk towards the waiting room once more to retrieve the Ingram. Before she could leave the room, though, Faitsu suddenly sat upright, ignoring the sharp bolt of pain that ran through her arm after putting pressure on it.

"Wait! I need to tell you something, if you're going to let me join you", she called out. Kris halted in her tracks and turned around.

"What is it?"

"The thing is, I... I used to be a member of Team Plasma. I foolishly believed in everything N said, and thought there was no better human being than him. This game taught me that I was wrong about all of that, and... I just can't believe I blindly trusted him for so long", Faitsu confessed, her tone growing shaky.

Everyone stared at her for quite some time, and Kris had completely forgotten about lookout duty, for those few seconds. Many of them were torn between whether or not they could trust her, but they had to wonder if she really was lying about no longer being on N's side, considering the fact that she had willingly told them something so dark.

"Hey, that takes a lot of guts to confess, right? I can't see any reason why you'd lie about something like that, and I dunno why you sided with him in the first place but you still told us. That's a pretty big sign of trust, huh?" Sapphire said, breaking the silence,

She walked over to Faitsu, and laid a hand on her right shoulder. The younger girl flinched at her touch, due to the fact it was her bandaged arm. Sapphire barely noticed, and continued talking.

"Besides, why would'ja lie about something like that?" she asked, looking down at the bandages covering her cut.

"So, you're really not associated with Team Plasma anymore? And you want to escape with us?" Ruby asked, also approaching the table.

"O-Of course! I don't want anything to do with Team Plasma or N ever again. I understand if you won't forgive me for my past, but if you can trust me, nothing will make me happier", Faitsu replied.

"We won't hold any grudges over you! Why would we? You've received a horrible wakeup call, but a wakeup call nonetheless. We'd be happy to help you get out of here, too", Ruby reassured her.

Kris smiled, watching the scene from the doorframe. She was relieved to see how open everyone had become to trusting one another, especially after the young girl had revealed such a dark secret. The brunette looked over at her with wide eyes. As if to reaffirm Ruby's claim, Kris nodded her head once, and then left the room to go find the Ingram and begin her duty as lookout.

That nod from Kris had sent Faitsu over the edge. She gripped the ends of her shorts, and bit her lip. Lowering her head once more, she made no attempt to prevent herself from crying. Tears had been threatening to fall since she revealed her secret, and after everyone gave their trust to her, she began to cry. She sobbed softly, her shoulders shaking.

"Oh, um... Could one of you get a tissue?" Ruby asked awkwardly, taken off guard by Faitsu's sudden emotional display.

Emerald ran over and retrieved a tissue from a box lying on the counter. He walked back over and handed it to Faitsu, who received a few soft back pats from Sapphire. She shakily raised the tissue to her eyes, dabbing them gently. It didn't stop her from crying, though.

As the others began to comfort her, she continued crying. It wasn't for the reasons they conjured, though. It was difficult to stop crying due to her frustration over how much they miscomprehended why she was so upset, but mainly, it was due to the fact that they had so blindly believed that N had been so brutal. At that very moment, even Kris was preparing to kill him.

_I'm so sorry. I can't believe they all have such a warped perception of you, my Lord. How can they all believe such blatant lies? They're horrid. I'll take all the pleasure I can in killing them, I promise, _Faitsu thought, continuing to sob, and hug herself. Ruby and Sapphire went on comforting her calmly, while X and Emerald watched.

**_17 Remaining._**


	30. Chapter 30

Almost twenty four hours had passed since the game began. The second night was much calmer than the first night in terms of weather. The sea was calm, and there was rarely a cold night breeze. Blue and Y were particularly relieved about the calm weather, given the fact that their outfits weren't ideal for harsh, cold weather.

Some time after the sun had set, Y had sat down next to Blue, drawing her knees to her chest for warmth. They watched the sea in silence, not exactly sure what to talk about. They both knew there was something heavy weighing on Y's mind, but neither girl had attempted to bring it up yet.

Throughout the night, there had been various spurts of gunshots from the south. They had caused both girls to flinch, and after the second round of shots, Y seemed to be thinking deeply. Blue had watched her for a long time after that, wondering how to bring her out of her thoughts.

She decided that she didn't want to launch into a heavy topic right away. Laying a hand on Y's shoulder, the younger girl jumped, and looked over at Blue with wide eyes. She relaxed upon seeing who it was, and let out a small sigh.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Can I ask something?" Blue said calmly.

"It's okay. I was just zoned out, that's all. And sure, what is it?" Y replied. She sounded slightly nervous at the sound of being confronted, which made the brunette even more suspicious about what was on her mind so much. She put it aside for the meantime.

"If you get out of here alive, what are you going to do next?" she asked.

Y hesitated before replying. Blue watched her intently, but waited patiently at the same time for her answer. After a few seconds had passed, the younger girl finally answered.

"I want to become a sky trainer. That's what I wanted to do before I got tossed into this, and I want to see it through, still. It's all I've ever wanted to do, and I'm not giving up on that because of all of this", she answered.

"You want to become a sky trainer?"

"Well, yeah. No matter what's wrong in the world, it's always peaceful up in the sky. Having battles up there brings some excitement to it at the same time! I'm surprised they're not more popular."

"I get what you mean, but I don't think I could ever do something like that. It's pretty admirable that you want to do that, though", Blue mumbled.

Y was tempted to ask her why she couldn't do something like that, but judging by her tone, it sounded as if it was a personal issue. She decided not to press her on the matter, and instead tried to change the subject.

"What about you? Have you got something in mind to do if you get out of here?" Y asked.

"I think if I live, I'm definitely not going to go back to my normal life. I've been through an awful lot, and after three years of peace, I honestly thought I was going to get to live a nice, peaceful life, along with my friends. But after everything that's happened, I can't do that. One of the men in there made my life a living hell as a kid, and now that he's responsible for the deaths of one of my friends, I can't live peacefully until I get back at him for everything", she said, her tone becoming increasingly more bitter, despite the humourless grin on her face.

Y hugged her knees closer to her chest and bit her lip. She had gotten vibes more than once that Blue had been through much more before this game, but she felt sympathy for the girl. She could understand fully why the older girl would spend the rest of her life trying to get revenge for what had happened. Y was almost beginning to feel bad about her own answer of trying to get back to a normal lifestyle. _Tierno, Trevor and Shauna are all dead and I didn't even think of trying to do something for them. What kind of friend am I?_

Blue watched Y's reaction to her plan with a little bit of guilt. She had clearly made the girl feel bad over her wish for a normal life, but it was something Blue could fully understand. That was all she had wanted ever since she was a child, and she could understand that wish to abandon everything that had happened, ignore it all, and continue living normally. It was simply a case of a bitter need for vengeance, and she wasn't going to judge Y for not having that same desire.

She decided that she needed to move on, and quickly. Since they had approached a heavy topic already, it wouldn't be that strange to continue moving from here on out. She had been deeply curious, even concerned, for the last few hours about Y.

"Okay, there's something I want you to tell me", Blue said firmly, giving the girl's shoulder a gentle shake.

"Huh?"

"Tell me what's been bothering you."

Y raised an eyebrow at her, and tried to feign confusion. Blue furrowed her brows, not buying her act in the slightest. After nearly a full hour of silence, it was clear that something had been occupying the girl's mind for quite some time. She was determined to find out what it was.

"We're allies, aren't we?" Blue asked. Y gave a reluctant nod, and sighed once more. She knew she would have to confront the girl sooner or later, but she had been opting for later. The topic that had been on her mind so much would definitely destroy their alliance.

"Blue, do you really think there's a chance more than one of us will get off this island alive?" Y asked slowly.

"Huh? Why are you thinking so far ahead? We might be here for another week."

"I don't think so. Eight people are already dead. And after that report, I'm certain the death toll's going to rise from this point on. No one wants their necks blown open, right? We'll probably be down to single numbers in less than a day. Can we get back to my question now?"

"Oh, yeah. I don't know if the death toll will rise, but I guess I understand why you'd think that would happen. But honestly... I don't think we can all get off the island. Maybe if there were more of us, but some of the smartest and elusive participants are dead. I mean, I'm still here, but I can't do it alone. Why are you even thinking about that, though?" Blue said, emitting a fake laugh. She was more than a little concerned to find out exactly why that had been on Blue's mind.

"If that's the case, then that means we're going to break up this alliance at some stage, right?" Y asked quietly, her expression completely unreadable.

"Wait, you want to stop being allies? I should've known something like that's been occupying your mind so much for the past few hours", the older girl muttered, trying to sound annoyed. The truth was that she was hurt to arrive to that conclusion, but refused to let it show in her reaction.

"I know it sounds like this is coming out of nowhere, but hear me out. Soon, we're either going to listen to some random guys tell us about how our closest friends are dead, or we're going to find them. Let's say we find them, and somehow reach the final few. We'll have to turn against each other, and I already know that neither of us will bother sticking side-by-side if we have to pick who to fight with.

"That's not all. Those two guys, Lance and N, haven't been in the reports yet. I'm almost certain they're fighting. I mean, they were brought here to kill-"

"Judging pretty quick, aren't you?" Blue interrupted, smirking.

"Did you know either of them before all this?!" Y snapped. That caused Blue's smirk to waver, recalling her impression of Lance before being tossed into the program.

"I didn't know N, but I did know Lance. He... Yeah, he would definitely take part in something like this", she admitted.

"See? And sooner or later, one of us, at least, is going to have to face off against him. I don't know what you want to do, but I don't want to die at the hands of someone like him. If I have to face off against him, I want to be sure I'm strong enough to take him on", Y continued to explain, struggling to find the right words to say as she continued.

Blue took a step back, her heart pounding. Even though the night wasn't that cold, she could feel chills run up and down her spine. She finally understood fully what had been on Y's mind for so long; she wanted to break the alliance, and find out if she was strong enough to take on someone like Lance, or possibly N. There was one way to prove it, and at that moment, it was the only conclusion Blue could arrive at.

"You want to try and kill me", she stated incredulously. Y took a step towards her, eyes wide with concern. Blue took another step back.

"Wait, let me finish! Blue, I've gotten to know you well enough. We're pretty alike, y'know? I can tell you don't want to just die like that, so I was thinking. If you want to try and test your strength to see if you can take on Lance, we should try and fight it out. Whoever wins has a good chance against actual players. I think we'd both be pretty tough to take down. And the loser... Well, if it's me, I personally would be okay dying at the hands of you. I really appreciate that you reached out to me on the first night", she continued, mustering a smile.

Blue tried to calm her mind. It was unbelievable. Of course, she had expected that she and Y would have to part ways soon, but she didn't think it would be in this manner, and so willingly. She was a little disappointed, and even upset, at the thought hat Y was so willing to kill her.

Nonetheless, Blue had decided that she wouldn't beg for her mercy, or another chance to be allies. Y had made her decision, and if the girl wanted to take a shot at fighting her, then she wouldn't object. The time for wallowing in her sorrow could come later, but at that time, she had to do whatever she could to survive.

"I get it. I don't want to die at the hands of some twisted guy either, or let you go through that either. But I hope you know that I've gotten through an awful lot in my life to reach this point. Are you certain you want to fight me?" Blue asked. Y shook her head.

"I've made up my mind. If we're both strong enough, we'll still have to confront each other eventually. Better sooner than later, huh?" she said, shrugging.

Blue nodded as well. She then took another step back, and picked up her bag. Y copied her actions. Their alliance was officially broken.

**_17 Remaining._**


	31. Chapter 31

"I'll give you one last chance. If you've changed your mind, I'll stay by your side for as long as I can. If you haven't, I'll fight back with all my strength", Blue warned, slowly unzipping her daypack.

"I've made up my mind", Y reassured her.

She reached down, keeping her eyes on Blue as she did so. Slowly, she picked up her mace, and held it over her shoulder. The girl had no idea how much, or little, power the mace would contain with one swing, but she was certain of the fact that she was certainly at an advantage in terms of weapons.

Blue gave a small shrug, almost as if to say, _'Your loss'. _Reaching down, she pulled her own weapon out of her daypack; a thick branch. Holding it out in front of her with two hands, both girls briefly remembered the previous night, where she had practiced swinging the weapon down on boxes. While it would take effort to kill with such a weapon, they both had a feeling that she could at least cause some damage.

Y stood there for a moment, taking in a few deep breaths. _In a matter of a few minutes, one of us will be dead, _she thought. It was difficult to believe, but it was something she had opted for. The most important thing before fighting, however, was to try and remain as calm as possible. If she didn't stay calm, she would lose all chances of winning.

In those moments, as Y attempted to calm herself, Blue lunged forward, her movements quick and lithe. The younger girl barely had time to register that she had moved so quickly, and before she could attempt to move back, Blue swung the stick as hard as she could. It made a direct blow into Y's stomach, causing the girl to stumble backwards.

She found it hard to breathe. Her lungs felt as if they were paralyzed from the blow. It was clear that Blue would do what she could to get the most efficient use out of the inferior weapon, and it was working so far. Y was finding it hard to stand up with her back straight, and she didn't even want to think of trying to swing her ow weapon, at that moment. Once again, her main priority became regaining her breath. The mace hung down low by her side.

Trying not to look like the weaker opponent, she stood upright, despite the burning sensation that accompanied her lungs as she did so. She held up the mace as high as she could, and attempted to conceal her desperate attempts to regain her breath. Glaring at the brunette, Y took a shaky step forward. _Oh, this is going to be tough._

Before she could make another move, or attempt to swing the mace, Blue held her index and middle finger up. Y furrowed her brows in confusion, wondering her intention behind suddenly creating a peace sign. She didn't have to wonder for long.

Blue took her opportunity while the younger girl was briefly caught off guard. She lowered her hand into a horizontal position, making her two fingers parallel to the blonde's eyes. Y let out a small gasp, the only thing she could do upon realizing what Blue intended to do.

As Blue brought her fingers forward, Y's eyes closed within a split second. Despite this, the older girl's fingers still managed to forcefully jab her eye sockets, causing a great sense of irritation to reach her eyes, and as much as she wanted to, Y couldn't open her eyes. She knew, at that moment, that she was at a great disadvantage.

One advantage, however, was that her temporary loss of sight, in such a stressful scenario, had managed to intensify her other senses. Her grip tightened considerably on the wooden handle of the mace, and she listened closely to hear where Blue moved. The only problem was that she didn't hear any footsteps, which made her confused.

She decided not to complain against it, though, and instead tried to quickly think of a plan of action, bringing her loss of one sense into account. Before she could attempt anything, however, she finally heard something. There was the sound of something clenching around the metal links that led towards the spiked ball on her mace.

It didn't take her more than a second to realize Blue was attempting to steal her weapon. She had underestimated how tight Y's grip on the weapon was, though, and gave a firm tug on the metal links. Y found herself being pulled forward, and her grip nearly slipped away from the weapon. _If she actually manages to steal my weapon, I'll definitely lose, _she thought, causing her to feel a sense of dread.

Considering she was the one who issued the fight, Y refused to be beaten that easily. She forcefully pulled the weapon back, and could hear that Blue had stumbled as simply as the other girl had moments ago. Impressed by her own strength, she tugged on the weapon once more, earning a small sound of annoyance from Blue. The older girl still refused to let go, though.

"Let go of it! _Let go!" _Y sneered, bringing the weapon over her head. Judging by the body heat she suddenly felt, Blue was still hanging onto the mace.

"Sorry, I can't exactly win with a stick", she replied, feigning regret.

Gritting her teeth in annoyance, Y decided to do something that could either give her a chance once more at winning, or give Blue her victory. Focusing all her energy into that one brief moment, the younger girl drew her knee upwards in a quick motion, praying with all her heart that it would make contact with her target's stomach.

She briefly felt something collide with her knee, and then heard a groan from Blue. The spiked ball fell downwards, upon having no one holding the metal links up anymore. Y heard the girl stumble backwards once more. _This is my only opportunity, _she thought.

Forcing her eyes fully open, she winced at the sensation, but finally saw her opponent. Blue was still wheezing from the rough jab she received into her stomach, and didn't appear to take notice of Y. She was obviously too focused on regaining her breath, as the blonde had been moments ago.

Taking her one opportunity, Y swung the mace forward, praying for a fatal hit. In the final few seconds, Blue looked up, swore, and held her arm out in front of her chest. The mace struck her right arm, and the spikes became implemented in that area. Blood began to drip down the metal spikes, causing both girls to pause and stare for a moment.

Blue bit her lip, resisting the urge to cry out. _I've been through too much to give up now. _Instead of wallowing in her pain, she gripped the ball by one of the spikes, briefly glanced at Y, and pulled the ball out of her arm, giving a small grunt as she did so. Blood began to flow more freely from her wound, but she attempted to ignore the pain.

Y shuddered upon seeing such a horrific sight. The fact that Blue had withstood such a tremendous amount of pain was difficult to believe. The squelching sound that the mace had made as it was taken out of her arm kept replaying over and over in her mind. She stood there, dumbfounded, at what she had just witnessed.

Blue took that as her opportunity. Picking up the thick branch once more, she moved forward, bringing Y back to her senses. She was confused as the older girl ran past her, but before she could turn around, Blue swung the stick once more, striking her in the back of the head.

Y almost fell to the ground upon receiving such a hard hit. She couldn't hold back a surprised cry, but refused to look weak in front of the girl who had just pulled a spiked ball out of her arm. Instead, she spun around, clutching the mace with both hands. She glared for a moment at Blue, and the two girls stood there in silence for a moment.

Before Blue could make the slightest move, though, Y leapt forward, ignoring the fact that she still felt slightly disorientated from being hit in the head. The two girls were face to face once more.

Then, Y swung the mace upwards, striking the older girl. Two of the spikes had landed in her lower chin, but not deeply enough to create a fatal wound. Nevertheless, the pain was tremendous for Blue, and she was struggling to hide it. Y refused to give her an opportunity to disturb her once more, and removed the weapon out of her chin as quickly as possible. As soon as she did, Blue brought her hand beneath her chin, trying to stop it from bleeding so much.

_She's distracted. This is my last chance. If I don't take this, I'll never win._

Letting out a scream, Y brought the mace high above her head. Blue looked up for a moment, eyes widening. It was the first time the younger girl had seen her look vulnerable in any way. She looked like a terrified young girl, and in that moment, Y was able to realize that this girl was more familiar with trauma and terror than she would ever be.

Then, the mace came downwards.

The spiked ball hit Blue nearly directly in the center of her head, just slightly to the right. It had dug in deep on impact, and had made the same squelching noise as it did when Blue pulled the ball out of her leg.

Blood began to drip down her face, making a few definitive streaks. Her eyes appeared lifeless, but remained focused on Y, as they did several seconds ago. Due to the fact that the younger girl was still holding the wooden stick up ever so slightly, Blue's body became slumped, and it looked as if she was struggling to stand.

Then, Y let go of the handle. Blue fell to the ground, landing with a light thump. The girl who had always been so devious and evasive had been outsmarted. Her liveliness had been extinguished, and ironically at the hands of someone who she had once wished to protect. Her life, which she had fought so hard to keep from an early age, had been ended in a quick motion.

Y's head was still throbbing, and she could still feel irritation in her eyelids. Despite the few instances of pain she felt around her body, one fact remained clear: She had won. Blue had been a strong and difficult opponent, and definitely someone with much more fighting experience than her. Also, despite her victory, she was still certain that the deceased girl in front of her was the stronger opponent. Y felt as if she had just gotten lucky.

_Still, a victory's a victory. I'm not going to deny myself that, at least, _she thought. Then, tired after battling for quite some time, she sat down in the grass, and attempted to take in her pride over winning against an older Dexholder.

Looking at the body of her ex-ally, however, Y couldn't bring herself to feel any joy over her victory.

**_16 Remaining._**


	32. Chapter 32

When the time came for Gold to leave, no one could bring themselves to speak. Over the past few hours, the island had grown dark, and they all knew that it would be incredibly difficult to make out whether or not there were predators lurking. It was a dangerous time to leave, and they all knew that the chances of Gold not coming back weren't slim.

Green silently placed an extra bread roll and bottle of water, which previously belonged to him, in Gold's bag. He figured that the younger boy would need it more than he would, if he was going to be searching for over twelve hours, at the most. Silver sat between them, his eyes following the movement of Green's hands.

Once Gold took those two necessities, Green reached into his pocket, piquing his juniors' curiosity. Gold and Silver leaned in closer. Green took his tracking device out of his pocket, and turned it on. Three dots were shown on the screen, indicating that there was nobody but them in the sector. After ensuring that information, he turned the device off once more.

Then, he handed it to Gold, who looked at him in confusion. He shook his head, and kept his hands by his side. Green looked a little frustrated with his stubbornness, and placed it beside him.

"Why're you giving this to me? You two'll probably need it more than I will", Gold argued, edging away from the tracking device.

"Where's your logic for that? There's two of us here, and we'll be staying where we are. You'll be moving around all the time, so you need something to ensure that you won't run into anyone who's actually taking part in all of this", Green said, with equal impatience.

Gold glared at him for an extra few seconds, but picked up the tracking device anyway. He stuffed it into his own pocket with some reluctance. Green tried to hide his relief through annoyance with more. As tension briefly hung in the air, Silver silently continued watching the scene.

"Right, so I have food, water, a tracking device, and a stun gun. That should be alright for twelve hours, right?" Gold confirmed, rooting through his bag.

"Do you want to swap the stun gun for the baseball bat?" Silver offered, holding up his weapon. Green shook his head before the other boy could reply.

"If Gold thinks fast, he'll be able to escape any killers using a stun gun. Just try and immobilize them for a while, and run. A baseball bat won't work as quickly or as accurately as a stun gun against a real gun. Let him keep it", he cut in.

Silver didn't bother to argue. He knew that they would need a weapon as well, and by Green's logic, it would be better if they let Gold take the stun gun. He put the baseball bat back in his daypack, and looked over at his friend.

"So, that's it, then?" he said.

"Guess so. There's nothing else I need to get or do", Gold muttered.

Even though it was the perfect time for him to leave, Gold stayed sitting there for an extra few minutes in silence. He glanced between his two allies from time to time, wondering if they would meet again. _What? Of course we will. I'm not being sent out to commit suicide- I just need to find other people. They wouldn't send me away from here if they weren't positive with carrying out that plan._

Feeling a little more confident of his chances of coming back, Gold stood up, stretched, and grabbed his bag. He tossed it over his shoulder, and then picked up the stun gun. Silver and Green stood up too, ready to see him off. The older of the three nudged Silver forward, causing the redhead to raise an eyebrow.

"You two are best friends, right? You must have something to say to him. If not, he can get going", Green announced, loud enough for Gold to hear.

Silver looked back at him for a moment, and then stepped forward. He and Gold stood there in silence for some time, unsure of what to say. After those few minutes had passed, Silver said the only thing he could think of at that moment.

"Make sure you come back", he requested. Even though it was dark, Silver was able to make out that Gold was grinning.

"Of course I will! Hey, I'll find Blue and Kris, and we can sort something out from there. Don't miss me too much", he snickered.

"Don't be careless either. If you see someone we didn't talk about allying with, avoid them. Remember, be back in this sector by tomorrow at twelve. If not, we'll come looking for you", Green instructed, taking a step forward too. After a moment of deliberation, he added another comment. "Stay safe."

Gold rolled his eyes and nodded. He attempted to feign irritation, but it was difficult to hide that he was growing nervous at their attitudes. They were acting as if their chances of ever meeting again were null and void. He wanted to reassure them that it wouldn't come to that, but couldn't find the words to do so.

"Well, I'll be off. See you", Gold said, and turned around.

He began to walk away, resisting the urge to look back over his shoulder. Despite that, he was certain that his two allies were still watching him go. Green and Silver stood there for some time, watching him go until they could no longer see him. At 11.45PM, their plan to find more allies was in motion.

Then, Silver sighed and walked back towards the area they were staying in. Green silently followed. They sat there quietly for some time. Without Gold, the atmosphere felt a lot less lighthearted.

* * *

><p>After his search for more weapons, Lance had retreated to E-4, where one single house stood. He was surprised to discover that the house was empty, but didn't complain. He set up a simple trap to let him know if somebody attempted to enter the house, and fell asleep on the single bed towards the back of the house. While he knew that N would get in more kills as Lance slept, he knew that it was important to keep well-rested. Fighting with a heavy sense of fatigue could result in losing to even the most weakhearted, eventually.<p>

He had fallen in and out of sleep between the 6PM report, having set an alarm on his watch to hear the next report. At 11.25PM, Lance decided that he had rested enough, and he needed to continue his progress throughout the game. Besides, with only one person's name announced in the 6PM report, he knew that he would have to step up his game.

It hadn't come as a surprise to see that the island had become so dark. Lance held onto the gun, which had belonged to Bianca, tightly and moved cautiously. He knew that he wouldn't end up being attacked first, if anyone were to spot him, but he still had to keep on his guard as he moved east.

After running for several minutes, Lance finally stopped. He knew that he was close to the edge of the island once more, this time on the eastern coast. Quickly trying to recall what was in the east, the most notable things included the residential area, even if only half of it was safe to enter, and the clinic.

Either way, it worked well with him. There had to be some sorry fool still foolish enough to remain in such obvious locations, and he decided to pay each individual area a visit. Feeling motivated once more, he picked up his pace.

Judging by his location, Lance figured that the closest place to visit would be the clinic. Certain of his decision, he continued onwards in an eastern direction. For a long time, he was walking in total darkness, occasionally seeing silhouettes of trees close by.

Then, as he kept walking, a small spotting of light could be seen in the distance. The most logical assumption was that it was a torch, but given his location, the man knew that the light up ahead was most likely to be from inside a building; the clinic. As well as confirming that he had travelled far, it also confirmed that there was at least one person inside.

Smirking, Lance quickly opened his daypack to ensure he had enough backup weapons. He still had the broken glass bottle from the first night, along with White's grenades, the kitchen knife, Tierno's brass knuckles and Cheren's gun. He was certain he was prepared for any kind of combat he'd have to face against in the clinic. _It's been a while since I've done anything like this, _he thought, beginning to look forward to fulfilling his duty once more.

Relaxing his mind, he continued walking forward. The light from the clinic grew larger and clearer. Eventually, he was able to make out the finer details of the clinic, illuminated by the light inside. Pausing for a moment, Lance examined the building.

There was a plain, wooden door leading into the building, which would be the most obvious way to enter. However, he figured that if he was dealing with someone intelligent, then they might have barricaded the door. Entering through one of the windows was his best option.

Also, his eyes were drawn to the balcony up above. A girl in a pleated skirt, which came just above her knees, and appeared to have her strangely shaped hair tied back into pigtails, was standing on the balcony, holding a gun.

Scowling, Lance was relieved he noticed her before attempting to move in any further. If she had spotted him, he would have been shot down on the spot. The only way he would have any chance of entering the clinic was to take down the pigtailed girl keeping watch. He raised the gun upwards, and brushed his finger against the trigger.

Before he could squeeze down on it, however, he suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around his chest from behind, confining his arms from moving. Lance struggled in the person's grip, and tried to turn around to see who had gotten a hold of him. The person didn't say anything, and instead began to drag him away from the scene, walking backwards.

Lance watched as the clinic bobbed in his sight, slowly becoming further away. The girl was staring in the direction he was being taken, considering some noise had been made as the person walked backwards through the thicket. She seemed to look away after a few moments, much to his relief. If she had tried to shoot, there would have been no way he would survive.

When the person felt like they were far enough from the clinic, they let go of Lance, who immediately turned around, gun raised. Upon seeing who had dragged him away, he lowered the gun, but remained hostile. The person across from him looked at the man with equal coldness.

"What was that about?! We had an agreement that we wouldn't ruin each other's plans, did we not?" Lance snapped, continuing to glare at N.

"We did. You were interfering with my plans. I had to stop you from interfering, or else you would ruin those plans", the other man explained.

Then, before Lance could retaliate, N took two strides forward, and held the other man up by his shirt collar. Lance let out a surprised grunt, but tried to remain calm. His grip tightened on the gun, ready to try and attack at any stage, but by the looks of things, N just wanted to continue talking.

"I've set this plan into motion, and it has the ability to bring down the number of people participating by a significant amount. One slight disturbance could ruin those chances, and I am not willing to let you risk it", he said irritably.

"What? Do you have a bomb planted in there? Just so you know, I have weapons that can get that job done quicker", Lance scoffed, indicating to his bag. N glanced at it briefly, and then shook his head.

"Not a literal bomb, but my plan will successfully kill everyone in there, if there are no disturbances to it. You will _not _interfere with that plan, or else or agreement is over. I do not wish to fight you yet, but if you ruin this, I will not hold back", he warned.

Even though Lance wasn't someone who was easily scared, he found his heart thudding upon seeing N in such a vicious state. He wasn't exactly sure why N wanted this victory so badly, but even Lance wasn't willing to start a fight with him. Instead, he gave a small murmur of understanding, causing the green-haired man to drop him. He tried to stand upright as soon as he was dropped, and looked at N for another moment.

"I have no clue what you're planning, but good luck with it. Since I'm letting you have this one, you better make sure it works out. And besides, I'm not the type of man to go back on my word. See you around, then", Lance said, giving a small wave, and heading off.

As soon as he was out of view, he reached into his bag, and pulled out the glass bottle. Out of frustration, he smashed it onto the ground, not particularly caring whether or not N heard. He had no idea what exactly that man had in mind with the clinic, but all Lance knew was that if the other man would let him do what he had wanted to do, the game would be progressing much quicker than it currently was. Trying not to think on lost opportunities, Lance continued striding forward, determined to let out his frustration.

* * *

><p>Yellow was surprised to see that the forest had remained quiet for so long. She had no complaints about it, though, as she was in no state to fight anyone. As much as she would have liked to have gained allies, on the other hand, she appreciated having time alone with her thoughts.<p>

To calm herself down after the earlier events of that day, she attempted to think back on happier memories. After a few minutes though, she found that it was incredibly difficult to think back on certain things, given the fact that it was also a cruel reminder that she would never be able to experience a happy, normal moment with her friends again. It made thinking back on those times depressing, even.

She rested her back against a tree trunk, her head gently bobbing down. Fatigue was overcoming Yellow once more, but she didn't want to fall asleep. Considering she had already rested earlier that day, getting into the habit of sleeping too often would guarantee death.

The one positive thing that had happened in the last few hours was that the pain in her arms and legs became tolerable. There was still a low, throbbing pain, but it was nothing compared to how it had been earlier. She still found it difficult to move her arms and legs, so she made no attempt to move from her current position.

That resolution lasted up until she heard something run past her, nearby.

Yellow held back a cry as she stood back up, and held the crossbow up as well. She turned towards the source of the sound, holding her breath.

Then, something hurried past the trees, moving quickly. She followed the sound with her crossbow, slowly moving it along in the direction of where the sound came from. Then, before she could do anything else, she heard a small cry from the bushes where she had been earlier.

It couldn't be mistaken; it wasn't a human that was in the forest. The only possible thing it could be was a Pokemon who had wandered into the forest at the worst possible time. Yellow limped over, moving as fast as she could, ignoring how much her legs were hurting as she did so.

By the edge of the bush was a Zigzagoon. It whined loudly, and looked up at Yellow expectantly. Leaning down, the girl winced as she did so, but got a closer look at the bush. There was fresh blood on one of the barbs, and she felt a horrible sense of dread in her stomach. Turning her head toward the creature, she picked it up.

Much to her relief, she discovered that it only pricked its paw off a barb. _How lucky. It wouldn't have survived, if it had to deal with the same amount of trouble I dealt with earlier, _she thought, and lifted its paw up.

Out of instinct, Yellow gently grasped its paw, and closed her eyes. Instead of feeling a tickling sensation running through her hand, as it usually did, she felt nothing. The Zigzagoon let out a small whine, she refused to let go. It had been hours since the incident, and she truly believed that some amount of power had returned. She didn't attempt to try it on herself, fearing that it would be too difficult. A small cut like this was ideal.

Several minutes passed, and the Zigzagoon was wriggling in her arms. Opening her eyes, Yellow saw that the wound hadn't been healed, and remained the exact same way it had been moments ago. Dropping her hand by her side, she blinked back tears.

"I really can't help anyone, after all..." she murmured, her voice breaking.

Looking down at the wounds on her own hands again, she couldn't believe how much she had been outsmarted. Yellow had to wonder how long it would take her to regain her healing powers, if she ever would. At this point, she didn't even know if she could make it off the island alive, with her wounds still open and hurting.

The Zigzagoon hopped off her lap, and ran away as far away as it could get. Yellow made no attempt to stop it. Her fatigue felt stronger than ever, and she found that her potential plans suddenly became a lot more complicated. Her main objective from that moment onwards was to stay alive. It was terrifying to know that her chances of surviving had become significantly slimmer. It also didn't help that she could no longer help anyone physically, not even the smallest of creatures.

At that moment, all Yellow wanted to do was rest. Even though her encounter with the Zigzagoon had only lasted a matter of minutes, it had left a depressing and tiring impact on her.

**_16 Remaining._**


	33. Chapter 33

"Good evening, children! I hope it's not too cold out there. If you're still alive, I believe the last thing you'll want is further discomfort. Now, let me announce the names of those no longer with us, and the areas you are no longer permitted to go to."

Upon hearing Ghetsis' falsely gentle tone, Green rolled his eyes. Scowling, he reached into his daypack and pulled out the map and pencil, ready to mark off any names and danger zones announced. He looked over at Silver, to see if his ally was doing the same. Once he saw that he wasn't, the older boy raised an eyebrow.

Silver kept his hands on his knees, and appeared to be gripping them tightly. His breathing was long and forced. Even though he was facing away from Green, it was clear that his face had gone pale. It was clear that he was on the verge of a panic attack, and understandably, too. If something had happened to Gold, this would be their only way of finding out, and Silver would blame himself, as he was the one who suggested splitting up. Green decided to calm him down after the report, in case anything happened.

"There have been a few more deaths since the 6PM report. Personally, I would suggest pushing the numbers up before the next report, if you wish to get off this island", Ghetsis suggested, "Now, onto the list of those who have died.

"Participant number sixteen, Rakutsu. Participant number two, Black. Lastly, participant number three, Blue. Your new danger zones are J-4 at 1AM, E-4 at 3AM, and F-2 at 5AM. Until the next report", he finished, and switched off the microphone.

The new danger zones were lost on Green. As soon as he heard the name of the final person to die before the report, his grip tightened on the pencil until his knuckles turned white, and it snapped in his hands. He barely noticed, and dropped it onto the piece of paper. After hearing the report, there was only one thing that continued to echo in his mind.

Blue was dead.

After that fact processed, it was followed by a burst of overwhelming thoughts and emotions. Disbelief was the most prominent emotion. He just couldn't _comprehend_ how someone actually managed to murder Blue. He was almost convinced that they had made a mistake in the announcement.

However, Green couldn't kid himself as he attempted to several times in the past. His other closest friend had been killed, and he didn't even know by whom. He didn't feel the same kind of trauma he felt when Red died, considering that he died in Green's arms, but he still felt a wave of grief overtake him. He wanted time to mourn.

He couldn't take that time to mourn, though. The one person who would be more affected by Blue's death by him was sitting right behind him. Green had no idea how Silver would register that fact as time passed, but as of that moment, the most important thing was to ensure he was as alright as he could be.

Turning around, he noticed that Silver's frame had stiffened. He made no movement, and remained sitting upright. Green thought back to when Gold and Silver had first found him, when he was in a trance-like state. Finding that one of the most vulnerable states achievable, he decided he needed to snap Silver out of it as soon as possible.

Silently, Green laid a hand on his shoulder. He wanted to say something to catch his attention, but it felt impossible to think of the right thing to say in a situation like this. _What the hell do you say to someone who just found out a girl, who's practically their sibling, has just been murdered?_, he thought.

Silver hadn't been in the same kind of state Green had been earlier. He was still trying to comprehend what he just heard, and if he heard correctly, how he could avoid completely and utterly breaking down. To keep himself calm as he attempted to think back, he had continued forcing himself to breathe.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, however, brought him back to the final time he had seen Blue. She had squeezed his shoulder in the classroom as she went to collect her daypack, similar to the gentle touch he felt at that moment. That shoulder squeeze was used as a sign of reassurance, and that she would continue being there for him, despite how dire the circumstances were.

But she wasn't. There was no way that Blue was squeezing his shoulder as a sign of reassurance. She would never do anything like that ever again, as she was then just another dead body on the island.

_Blue's nothing more than a dead body._ With that thought resonating in his mind, it finally began to occur to Silver that he hadn't heard the report wrong, after all. That caused his attempts to breath methodically come to a halt, as his mind began to feel like it was collapsing in on itself. Any hopes of remaining calm were gone.

His breathing hitched, and he began to tremble violently. Green's grip tightened on the younger boy, taken off guard by his sudden panicky display. Silver had become completely pale, and before he could be calmed down, or anything else, he stopped trembling suddenly. He swayed for a moment, and then fell into the grass with a thump.

Green turned him over onto his back. Silver looked as if he had simply fallen asleep due to exhaustion. The only thing that gave away he was in discomfort was the fact that his face was covered in sweat. The older boy didn't have to make any assumptions; Silver had definitely fainted due to overwhelming shock and stress. He had been tense ever since Gold left, and hearing about Blue's death was too much to take in.

"Hey, Sil-" Green began, but quickly stopped. He took his hand off Silver's shoulder, bringing it to his own side.

Green figured it would be pointless to wake him. When Silver woke up, he would have to go through one of the worst experiences anyone would ever have to go through. Since he was unconscious, he couldn't be haunted by horrid thoughts of death or despair. Leaving him have some peace was the most Green could do at that moment.

Besides, Green needed time to think about how he could comfort Silver. It wasn't an easy thing to do, and he knew nothing he could say would ever be enough, but he needed to do something to calm him, at the very least.

While Silver was unconscious, Green decided to take that time to try and mourn Blue, as his dead friend, while he could. Letting our a small groan, he clutched strands of his hair, and buried his head in his knees. Even though he didn't go through the same trauma he did earlier that day, he still felt as if there was a gaping hole in his chest. _If I get out of this, how am I going to live knowing that my two best friends are dead?_

Despite how devastated he felt, Green found that he still couldn't cry. Instead, he continued sitting in that spot quietly, while Silver laid silently beside him.

* * *

><p>After he left his allies, Gold had broken into a run. He was hesitant about staying in any location for too long, in case of lurkers. Occasionally, he did stop and look around. His main goal was to find allies, and it wouldn't work out well if he kept bolting out of every sector he came across.<p>

As he moved southward, he came to a stop once more, holding his assigned stun gun out as he surveyed the area. There didn't appear to be anyone nearby, so he continued walking south. He expected the eastern side of the island to be busier than it was, given the fact that it was also the area where the most buildings were located.

It was disappointing to see how quiet it was, but Gold decided to continue scouring that side of the island. He had twelve hours to do so, and he had to make the most of that time. It was difficult to call whether or not he would be able to search the entire island in that time, but he decided that it was best to get moving again, in case it took longer than he expected.

He broke into a run once more, clutching the stun gun close to his chest. As he kept running, he saw a silhouette of something become clearer in the distance. It was much thicker than a tree, and appeared to be a house-like shape. Whether or not it was a living space, the most logical conclusion was that it was a building. Slowing down, Gold decided to deliberate whether or not he should search the building.

In the thick shrubbery, he weighed the pros and cons of taking time out to look in the sheltered area. It would heighten his chances of running into others, but at the same time, it would take a good chunk of time out of the twelve hours, and he might run into the wrong person.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Gold knelt down and attempted to decide which was the better option. _I want to make sure I find allies, don't I?_, he thought. He already knew the best possible option would be to perform a search the building.

That was when the 12AM announcement started. Gold froze, and decided to listen closely. He didn't want to let go of his weapon, and decided that he would try to memorize the danger zones they announced.

He barely heard the danger zones, though. Similar to Green, a feeling of dread overwhelmed him upon hearing Blue's name mentioned in the list of the deceased. He thought back on his promise to Silver, and how he would find Blue for him. I'm too late. _Somebody got there first_, he thought, shuddering.

As much as he tried, he couldn't picture how Silver could have possibly reacted. All he knew was that his friend would need people to be there for him, and do whatever they could to calm him down. As one of his best friends, Gold decided that he needed to go back. Silver was his top priority, at that moment. He could try searching later.

When he attempted to stand up, however, he felt something tighten around his wrist. Eyes widening, he tugged his wrist, only to have it tugged back. Almost with reluctance, Gold looked down at his wrist.

A hand was curled around it. Following the hand up, he was able to make out who had gripped his wrist, despite how dark it was. Even though he had only seen him briefly in the classroom, Gold immediately identified the man as N. The man was staring at him intently, but also with calmness.

It didn't take Gold any deliberation to decide that N didn't deserve any chances. He had been brought into the program to assist in killing, but there was no way the hot-blooded boy was going to give him that chance.

He swung the stun gun forward, and pressed down on the central button. A blue light flashed out from the weapon, and made a small zapping sound as it came in contact with N's hand. Hissing, N brought his hand back, briefly examining the damage. The man briefly glanced up at him, his look considerably darker. He still remained clutching his hand, though, so his threat was significantly lessened.

Gold knew he wouldn't get another opportunity like that. He scrambled out of the thicket, and bolted forward, daring not to look back. It felt like he had been running for far too long by the time he reached the building, where the ground was gravely and rough, in contrast to the grass he had been running through.

Gasping for breath, he took a step back, taking a closer look at the building. It appeared to be rundown and unremarkable, but it looked like a suitable spot to hide in, nonetheless, if somebody was looking for shelter. He didn't take time to fully take in the details of the building, as his main priority was escaping from N.

Looking back over his shoulder, Gold realized that N hadn't followed him out of the thicket. He was confused as to why, but decided that he couldn't waste time wondering why. Just as he was prepared to take off again, unsure of where to go, something stopped him from moving an inch.

"Gold?"

A soft, uncertain voice could be heard above him. Gold was immediately able to identify who spoke to him, but was in disbelief. He had to confirmed that he didn't just imagine it.

Taking a few steps back, he realized that the building had a balcony, and someone was standing on it. Kris stood there with wide eyes, a machine gun in her right hand. That hand then hung by her side, and her grip almost loosened on the weapon.

Gold still couldn't believe it. He took a step forward, continuing to stare up at the balcony. He had no idea what to say. He wanted to tell her how relieved he was that he found her before it was too late, to warn her about N, to do anything. Despite all that, it took him several seconds to actually open his mouth.

"Kris", he said, his tone unusually quiet. He just wanted to confirm that she really was there, and he wasn't imagining it.

Then, Kris turned around, and ran out the door that led up to the balcony. Gold wanted to call out to her to wait, not wanting her to go yet. He was still trying to take in the gact that she was really there.

He hardly had any time to be upset over her sudden disappearance, though. Seconds later, the front door opened with a bang. Kris stood there in the doorframe for a moment, and Gold briefly caught a glimpse of two or three others behind her, looking out with equal surprise to her.

Then, before he could take another step forward, she ran outside, and towards him. Kris gazed at him for a moment, and then pulled him into a tight hug, her hands gently resting on his back. She buried her head in his shoulder, her hair gently brushing against Gold's cheek. He pressed his arms against her back as well, unsure of where to put them.

"I don't know how else to say this, but just so you know, I missed you", she confessed.

Gold wanted to tell her the same, but was still at a loss for words. He didn't even know where to begin to express his relief that her name hadn't been in the last announcement. Instead, he just continued holding her. The other members of the group silently watched their reunion from the open door.

_**16 Remaining.**_


	34. Chapter 34

Gold continued embracing Kris for a few minutes, until he finally remembered something important. While he had been simply embracing in the fact that Kris was well and alive, he had completely forgotten about his encounter with N just seconds ago. He only remembered after he realized that he was still holding the stun gun.

He let go of Kris, and glanced inside the clinic. Doing a quick headcount, he concluded that there were five others inside. He recognized his three Hoenn juniors, but was unfamiliar with the others. He was curious as to how they all ended up becoming allies, but he decided that he would ask about that another time.

"Can we go inside? I don't really want to be out here anymore", Gold requested, trying to make his tone sound nonchalant.

"Oh, of course. Sorry, I didn't mean to keep you out here for this long", Kris mumbled, sounding a little embarrassed.

Gold shrugged it off. They hadn't been out there for that long, but clearly Kris had been nervous about staying outside for more than a few minutes. After her conversation with Faitsu, she had been worried that N might still be lurking nearby, ready to attack anyone who could be spotted at the clinic. She tried not to think too much about it, though. She decided she was allowed to take her time in embracing that Gold had somehow found where she was hiding.

Deciding not to delay any longer, Kris turned around and walked inside, with Gold following. He kept glancing over his shoulder, certain that N would have followed him. It was surprising, considering getting a shock from a stun gun shouldn't have immobilized him for more than a minute or two. Although he was suspicious, he didn't complain. Once he closed the front door behind him, he felt all his suspicions be washed over by relief.

Inside the clinic, Kris subconsciously kept her hand on Gold's back. He stared at his juniors for a few seconds, who stared back. X and Faitsu stayed behind Ruby and Sapphire, unsure of what to make of this new person. Breaking the tension, Emerald took a step forward. Gold copied his movement, and knelt down, briefly ruffling the shorter boy's hair.

"You managed to meet up with your friends in the end, huh?" Gold said, grinning. Emerald gave a quick nod.

"Yeah! They both got here unscathed", he confirmed, turning back over his shoulder to look at Ruby and Sapphire. Neither teenager could find anything to say, and decided to just stand back and watch, alongside their hesitant juniors.

"Speaking of, have you met Silver?" Kris interrupted. She bit her lip and looked down at the floor. "You heard the announcement, right? He can't be doing well right now."

"We've been allies up until this point. I went out to go look for people, so here I am. When I heard the announcement, I was gonna turn back, but-" Gold began to explain, but stopped himself. He knew that if he continued, it would end the happy reunion, and that tense atmosphere would return once more. He wasn't in any rush to make the people in the room sick with worry.

"But what?" Kris asked.

"Well, on the way here, I ran into this guy. One of the guys brought into this specifically to kill us, y'know? I'm pretty sure his name was N. I got away after using this", Gold said, holding up his stun gun, "But he's still out there. I wanted to find other people as soon as possible. I was too far away from Green and Silver by then."

"Wait, he's still around here?!" Sapphire exclaimed, her tone becoming panicked.

Kris' eyes widened upon hearing N was around. She looked over at Faitsu, to see how she reacted. The younger girl had stiffened up after hearing Gold's announcement, and kept her eyes on the floor. Ruby looked worriedly between Sapphire, after her panicked reaction, and Faitsu, who was shock stricken. Then, he looked at Gold helplessly, hoping he would be able to reassure any of their worries.

"Well, he was close by when I got here, but he didn't come after me, or anything like that. I have no idea what he's doing out there", Gold muttered, losing his certain tone.

Despite his uncertainty over whether or not a threat remained outside, Kris refused to stand by to wait and see what would happen. She took a step forward.

"Someone needs to go on lookout duty. Please keep completely aware of your surroundings, and look out for N. Our rule of shooting him on sight still applies, since we now know he's actively seeking to hurt others", Kris ordered, before looking around. "Is there anyone here willing to take up the next shift?"

There was silence for a moment. Gold looked at her in a slight state of shock. He hadn't expected her to be so ruthless with her treatment of N, but she was fully prepared to attack him, if he presented a threat to those who were innocent. Although it slightly disturbed him to think like that, he felt impressed by her definitive course of action.

After that moment of hesitance had passed, Sapphire stepped forward. Ruby looked like he wanted to protest against what she was about to say, but kept quiet.

"I'll do it. You take care of that guy, alright? I'll be fine up there", she said, a hint of a smirk visible on her face.

"Sapphire, are you sure you're thinking this through?! You have no idea how strong that person is", Ruby spoke up at last.

"Jeez, you're acting like I'm some wimp. Besides, if that guy goes cowering off because he got a little shock off one of those things, he can't be all that strong, can he?" she refuted, and laughed. Ruby still didn't look convinced on the whole idea, but didn't get another chance to protest.

"Don't underestimate his strength, Sapphire. You did see what he did to Faitsu, after all. The Ingram is still up on the balcony floor, so feel free to go. We'll send someone else up in an hour, okay?" Kris said hurriedly, getting anxious about the lack of lookout on the balcony.

Sapphire nodded, indicating she understood. Then, she turned on her heel and ran up the stairs leading to the balcony. Ruby stared at the door for several seconds after she left, until someone spoke up once more.

"Hey, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but do you guys have another gun I could borrow? There's somewhere I need to go, and I could use a better weapon than this thing", Gold requested, waving the stun gun.

"Wait, you're already leaving?" Kris asked quietly, in disbelief.

"I need to go find Silver and Green again. I can bring them down here, or something, but I told them I'd try to get back as soon as possible, if I found allies. Still, I'd-"

"No! I'm sorry, but I can't let you leave. Not now. You just told me N was out there, and after you hurt him, he's going to keep an eye out for you. It hasn't been that long, and it's more than likely he's still in the area. I understand it's important to find Silver, especially to see if he's okay, but I can't let you endanger your life right now to find him", Kris protested.

Gold glanced away from her briefly, feeling conflicted. She did have a valid point, but at the same time, his top priority was still Silver. He remained deeply worried about him, and knew he would feel awful if he just sat around.

"If I have a gun or something, then I'd have a chance against N!" Gold tried to argue back, knowing it was pointless.

"We don't know what weapons he has, though. I really don't feel comfortable with letting you out there when we don't know what he's capable of. Please, just stay here for even a little longer", Kris pleaded, losing her firm tone.

Neither of them spoke for a minute. Faitsu, X, Emerald and Ruby watched their little argument awkwardly from a distance, no one exactly sure of what to say. Gold stood there, weighing the possibilities of whatever option he chose. After he made his decision, he dropped his daypack onto the floor.

"I'll stay. I promised Silver and Green I'd be back by twelve tomorrow at least, though. Around eleven thirty tomorrow, I'm going, no matter what. Is that okay?" Gold asked. Kris smiled, and nodded.

"Of course. We'll stay on strict lookout all night for N, and hopefully we should be okay", Kris said. Then, she quickly tried to change the subject. "So, is there anything you need? We have proper food and coffee, if you want some."

"If I'm honest, I just want to lie down right now. It's been a tiring night", he mumbled, rubbing one of his eyes. After thinking of the potential of getting some sleep, it had occurred to him that he had hardly slept since the program begun. It sounded more than appealing to get some sleep right about then.

Nodding, Kris indicated for Gold to follow her. Complying, he followed her towards the first door towards the back of the waiting room. He pushed through his younger allies, most of whom stepped back to let him through. Accidentally bumping into Faitsu, the girl let out a small yelp, and brought her injured arm to her chest.

"Sorry about that!" Gold laughed, but grew serious upon how dazed she looked. "Hey, you alright?"

She continued to stare at him for a moment, and then looked away, deciding not to give a reply. Gold furrowed his brows, and was tempted to try and turn her around, when Kris suddenly called for him to come with her. Forgetting about his concern, he ran after her into the first room, looking around at the various beds.

"There's about ten beds in here, but nobody's really claimed one for themselves", she explained as he walked from bed to bed. Finally, he settled on the fourth one furthest from the door.

"Hey, these are pretty comfy", he observed, pulling the blanket up around him.

"Aren't they? If you need anything, just call me", Kris told him, and after a moment of deliberation, she added, "And I'm sorry about not letting you go back to get Silver. I want to find him too, especially after that announcement. I hope you do understand, and once we go looking for him again, we can do everything it takes to make sure he gets through this."

"Yeah, I get it. I'm not mad, if that's what you're thinking. I'm just worried about him, y'know?" Gold said, leaning back.

"So am I... Look, I'm going to go now. Try to get some rest. It'll help", Kris said, and left the room. She gently closed the door behind her.

The conversation that sparked up outside in the waiting room was low and sounded dull. It wasn't disturbing Gold in any way, and he knew that he was in the perfect surrounding to sleep. Closing his eyes, he tried to clear his mind. No matter how much he tried, though, his mind kept wandering back to Silver, and as well as that, the potential threat that N imposed on the clinic.

**_16 Remaining._**


	35. Chapter 35

Approximately twenty minutes after he passed out, Silver woke up once more. Green only realized after hearing a rustling in the grass behind him, as the younger boy tried to stretch out. He immediately turned around, waiting to see if Silver remembered anything. Judging by his disorientated and lost expression, Green figured that he didn't remember right away.

Before he could say anything, Silver edged over to him, clearly shaking. Of course, it wouldn't have taken long for him to remember everything before he lost consciousness, especially considering what he had heard before fainting. Silver held his hand out for a moment, looking like he was considering putting his hand on Green's shoulder, but finally decided to put both his hands on his lap instead.

"You heard the names on the announcement too, didn't you?" Silver said quietly. He sounded as if he didn't want to ask it, but it was something that had to be said.

"I did", Green confirmed.

Even though he had time to think, it was difficult to think of the appropriate thing to say in a situation like this. _I'm sorry _wouldn't feel like enough. _There's nothing we can do now _would probably only worsen Silver's state. In the end, he would just speak when he was spoken to.

That idea quickly changed, though, when Green saw a near repeat of what had happened a little while earlier. Once again, Silver was verging on hysteria, judging by the way he was breathing. His grip on his knees looked incredibly tight. Green could tell he was doing everything he could to keep himself together, but it was failing quickly.

"Hey, listen-" he began, trying to find some way to comfort him. Despite what happened earlier, he still put his hand out, ready to put it on his shoulder, only to have it quickly batted away.

"I'm going to kill him", Silver murmured, sounding almost calm.

Green withdrew his hand, taken off guard. There was no way that Silver could have guessed, by that point, who was responsible for Blue's death. If he kept up with this mindset, however, Green knew that he would be on the quick road to acting irrationally, and endangering his life. He decided that his new main priority was to calm him down, and quickly.

"Who are you talking about?" he asked, trying to keep his tone as calm and neutral as possible.

"Who do you _think? _Giovanni. If it wasn't for him, Blue would still be..." Silver tried to explain, but couldn't bring himself to say the last word.

_Oh, I get it. He's mad at his father for the program. He _does _have a point. Hell, I've been more mad at the supervisors than the killers in this game for what happened here, _Green thought. He chose not to respond to Silver, assuming the boy wasn't done talking.

"A few years ago, you told me that I should try and be proud of the man I call my father. I can't do that anymore. If it wasn't for him, everyone would still be alive. Because of him, more people will die, and we can't do anything about it! If I survive, I'll do everything in my power to kill him", Silver snarled, his tone shaky due to his anger.

Green didn't say a word. He understood perfectly why he was so furious, particularly towards Giovanni, and he knew that interrupting Silver was pointless. It was better to let it all get out of his system.

"But... I don't know. That's my only reason for wanting to get off this island. After that, I don't know what I want to do. What's the point in living without Blue? She's always been there for me. What can I do now?" Silver continued, his tone losing malice.

Then, he lowered his head once more, clasping his hands together. His nails seemed to be digging into his skin. Green watched helplessly, knowing what his exact dilemma was. Silver wanted to be the one to kill Giovanni for what had happened in the program, but at the same time, he was quickly losing motivation to keep on going.

"Listen to me. I promise you, that with a few exceptions, whoever makes it out of here alive will do anything they can to get revenge. You don't have to worry about them getting away with what's happened here.

"If you do happen to be the survivor, though, I'll say one thing. Try to keep living. Blue survived many things, but so did you. Some of that was with her help, wasn't it? Don't forget any of that. As long as you stay alive, her memory stays alive too. Besides, she'd want you to keep living", Green attempted to reassure him.

He felt like his comfort was ridiculous. After all, he was no one to tell Silver not to kill himself after the program, if he was the survivor, because Green knew that he would do the exact same thing, if he was in his shoes. Still, he felt that he needed to give his junior a reason to keep on living. Blue would have never forgiven him if he had let Silver continue thinking like that.

The younger boy seemed to have nothing more to declare. Letting out a small whine, Silver brought a hand to his face, and wiped his eyes roughly, trying to quickly get rid of any tears that threatened to fall.

"Is it possible for anyone to die peacefully here? What if she-" Silver began, speaking his mind, more than anything else.

"Don't start thinking like that", the older boy interrupted quickly.

Green knew that the mindset he was entering was a dangerous one. It had been incredibly difficult for him to deal with Red dying somewhat painfully in his arms, and thinking about Blue's death would do nothing to ease their troubled minds. He decided that the topic needed to be changed, and fast.

"You don't have to think about how she died. Try to focus on something, _anything _else", he instructed.

That caused Silver to become silent again. He seemed to be contemplating what to say, and judging by his expression, it was difficult for him to steer away from disturbing, stress-inducing thoughts. _Come on. Don't think about the fact that she's dead, _Green thought, watching him closely.

"Did you love her?" Silver finally asked, sounding genuinely curious. Deliberating the right way to respond, Green took a few moments to reply.

"I did. I know what you're thinking, but she wasn't the person I wanted to actually be with. But I did care about her, even if I didn't show it well", he said. _If there's a chance I'm going to be dead soon, it's best to get this all off my chest. I missed my opportunity with Red, anyway._

"Really? I thought all this time, you had a crush on her. I'm pretty surprised", Silver replied slowly, trying to sound calm.

It was difficult to talk so calmly, especially since he was still trying to recover from what he heard. Realizing that he was still heavily focused on Blue's death, Green tried to find a way to get him thinking about another topic, if only briefly. After a little hesitation, he finally spoke.

"The person I loved in that way was Red", he confessed, sounding a little reluctant to explain, but continued regardless, "When I realized it, I never planned on telling him. I had no idea how he'd take it. I mean, we're best friends. How could I risk that?

"After I found him in one of those houses though, I still didn't want to tell him. It was only after it was too late that I realized that it would be my last and only chance to let him know how I felt. Now, he's gone, and he'll never know how I feel. No matter how long I live, I'll have to carry that regret with me."

Green quickly shook his head. He didn't mean to reveal so much, especially since he had always intended to keep that secret to himself, and never even thought he would be admitting it all to one of his juniors. He also didn't mean to talk about himself so much. Even though he wanted to take Silver's mind off horrible topics, it was still important to keep it in mind. Denial could only bring a person so far.

"Anyway, you shouldn't go on with any regrets. I don't know if you got the chance to tell her, but it was pretty clear that Blue was the most important person in your life. I think she knew that too", Green concluded.

Silver didn't respond. Ever since he had regained consciousness, he had been trying his best not to cry. He knew that if he started, he had no idea how he would be able to stop. Hearing that Blue knew how much he cherished her, though, had been the one fact that pushed him over the edge.

Lowering his head once more, Silver began to cry, unable to stifle his sobbing. His vision became blurry, and he made no attempt to wipe his eyes. He felt that he could never do anything to show how much he was suffering from this bereavement, but for that moment, he decided that not holding back the fact that he was upset would be enough.

As he continued to cry, Green watched quietly. Then, after a moment of deliberation, he sidled over to Silver, and put an arm around his shoulder. He gave the boy's shoulder a gentle shake, in an attempt of showing that he was there for him. Silver gave no response, but Green didn't expect him to. At that moment, he deserved to be completely focused on his own emotions.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, at 1AM Diamond also woke up. Wiping away drool from the side of his mouth, he sat up, wincing at the irritation he felt in his cheek, after having it pressed against the rough hay for so long. Looking around, he noted immediately that Platinum was no longer sitting beside him.<p>

He stretched out his legs before standing up, his feet landing softly on the floor, which was covered in hay too. Once he stood up, Platinum came back into view. Her silhouette could be seen at the top of the barn, just before the double doors. She appeared to be peering out into the night, and didn't take any notice of Diamond.

As he proceeded to walk over to her, she still didn't take any notice. By the looks of things, Platinum was completely engrossed in keeping watch on what was going on outside. Even when he was only a few inches away from her, she still didn't turn around. _Did she fall asleep while standing up?, _he wondered.

Diamond didn't bother to contemplate any longer. Instead, he tapped Platinum on the shoulder in an attempt to catch her attention. Despite how light his tap was, it still caused the girl to let out a small cry and leap back. She spun around, pointing the sickle towards the possible threat. Diamond let out a cry as well and stumbled backwards, luckily avoiding getting hit. Even if he hadn't stumbled backwards, Platinum's weapon held in the right way to do any damage.

Upon realizing who it was, Platinum immediately lowered her weapon and ran towards him, feeling immensely embarrassed for reacting so harshly and suddenly. She knelt down beside him.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so scared!" she apologized.

"I'm fine, don't worry. What about you? You seemed pretty out of it", Diamond replied.

"Mm, I'm okay. I was just standing on guard for the last few hours while you slept. I was just thinking after the last announcement that-"

"W-Wait, I missed an announcement?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I should have woken you. Our area isn't going to become a danger zone yet. Pearl's still alive, but Rakutsu, Black and Blue's names were announced. We're down to sixteen now", Platinum informed him, her tone growing soft.

"That means more than ten of them died already", Diamond mumbled, sounding glum at his realization.

"It's horrible... But, we've made it this far, and so has Pearl. Unfortunately, so have Lance and N. That man did say that they were brought into this competition specifically to kill us, correct? If it happens to be the three of us against one of them in the future, we need to be able to fight against them", she continued.

"What're you thinking of doing?"

"I don't want to do this, but if I have to kill either of those two men, I will. It's the only way the three of us can safely find a way to escape. They want to harm us, so we have to counter that. I wish to start training."

Diamond gulped. It was so strange to hear Platinum sound so willing to do such a thing, but given the fact that the numbers were quickly beginning to decrease, he knew as well as she did that they would have to do something once the circumstances turned dire.

"You promise to only kill if it's against people who want to hurt us, right?" he asked.

"Of course! I would never kill otherwise. It took me a long time to come to a decision on this... I don't want to do anything unless I really have to, though."

Nodding at that relievedly, the pair walked back inside together. Platinum felt relieved that Diamond didn't have much reason to protest against her. It was a big decision to decide to kill, even if it was in self defense, and she was just happy that he was behind her on the decision.

After they were back by their usual spot, Diamond turned towards her. Platinum held the sickle by her side with one hand, and stared at her friend confusedly, wondering why he was looking at her.

"Uh, how are you thinking of training?" he asked.

"I was going to gather some hay and practice using this. Could you please watch how I'm doing?"

Diamond nodded, and then proceeded to push aside their bags, and start gathering clumps of hay. He began to pile them on the floor, unsure of what Platinum wanted to do with them, exactly. Bunching them into a more definitive shape, he took a step back, and looked over at his friend.

"Thank you, Diamond", she said, sounding a little nervous.

Diamond took a step back, carefully watching the way she held the sickle. Holding it out in front of her with two hands, she took a few steps forward, and pierced the hay with the weapon. Drawing it downwards, she frowned upon seeing that the line she was trying to form became curvy and uneven, after hoping for a straight line. The sickle was much lighter and difficult to control than she imagined.

"Good job, Missy! Keep going!" Diamond encouraged.

Platinum smiled back at him, and tried it once more. This time, the line was straighter, although still with some curves. Giving out a small grunt, she pierced the hay once more, this time from the side. Her swipes were becoming quicker, and more linear with each attempt.

This went on for several minutes. Diamond continued to encourage her enthusiastically, even though she was becoming more and more exhausted. On the seventh attempt, she perched herself down in the hay, letting out a sigh.

"What's the matter?" Diamond asked, joining her in sitting in the hay once more.

"It's more energy-consuming than I originally thought. Also, I can't concentrate on doing this. I keep worrying about Pearl... I know his name wasn't in the announcement, but that doesn't mean it's irrational of me to worry, is it?" Platinum explained.

"I don't think it's wrong to worry. I'm scared for him too", Diamond reassured her.

"Say, you've been friends with Pearl for longer. How do you think he's doing?"

Bowing his head for a moment, Diamond began to think of how Pearl could be doing. He thought back on how his friend usually tried to handle stressful situations, but it was difficult. This was on a whole other level of stressful situations. Nevertheless, he thought that he had found his definitive answer.

"Knowing Pearl, he's probably looking all around the island for us. He must be just as worried as we are right now! I bet he's wondering what we're up to right now as well", Diamond answered. Platinum mustered a smile upon hearing that.

"I suppose it makes a lot of sense, for him to be as worried as we are", she said quietly.

Then, she stood up, holding the sickle once more. She decided that she should only take quick breaks every now and then, and catch up on sleep later. Perfecting her use of her weapon was the main objective at that moment. Before she started practicing again though, she turned to Diamond.

"Do you genuinely believe that he's coping well?" she asked quietly.

"I dunno if I'd put it like that, but I think he's coping, at least. I think he'll find a way to deal with anything, no matter how bad things are. I'm still worried, but I don't think we have to worry too much. Pearl's really strong, you know."

**_16 Remaining._**


	36. Chapter 36

After Lance's encounter with N, he had decided to continue exploring the bottom half of the island once he calmed down. His original weapon, the glass bottle, had been discarded and left behind, but he couldn't care less. He had picked up a much better array of weapons, of which he planned to put to use before the 6AM announcement.

At first, he considered moving further towards the more natural terrains, and briefly considered checking the beach. Then, he decided against it. Lance figured that, particularly at night time, the other contestants would attempt to find places to stay inside.

Naturally, he decided to avoid checking the clinic, mainly because he was certain that N wouldn't just leave him off with a warning if he tried to interfere with the other man's plans again. Instead, Lance decided to check the map once more. He knew that the main part of the residential area had turned into a danger zone, which was disappointing.

However, he realized that the sector on the right of the housing estate had yet to become a danger zone, and contained a few scattered houses, according to the map. Feeling confident that there had to be at least one or two people still hidden in the said sectors, he began to walk towards the sector, digging through his bag as he did so.

Lance's eyes had also been drawn to the barn house, but decided it would be wiser to look in the more obvious areas first. His deliberation over the barn house was completely forgotten about as he focused on rooting through his bag.

Eventually, he pulled out the pistol he had taken earlier. As he approached the second half of the housing estate, he briefly checked to make sure there were bullets in it. Once he saw that there were, he clicked the safety off, and walked further into the housing estate.

The first two doors were locked, but Lance decided he would only come back and force them open if all the other doors were locked too. He walked past the third door, assuming that if it was unlocked, it would be too obvious and out in the open for anyone to try hiding in. Upon reaching the fourth door, however, he discovered that it was unlocked. He forgot about the other locked doors, and proceeded to turn the handle.

As Lance opened the door slowly, he pointed his gun inside the dark house. He thought an unlocked house would be the worst possible place to hide, as it was too obvious, but he figured that there had to be someone stupid enough still alive willing to take that risk. Then, he proceeded to walk a little further inside.

* * *

><p>Diamond's assumption about what Pearl was doing had been mostly incorrect, but with one correct fact; he had been thinking nonstop about how Diamond and Platinum were doing. Ever since he had entered the house, though, he had only came close to leaving once. Since that brief venture to the door, he had continued lying on the bed, feeling completely restless.<p>

It had been a relief to hear that neither of his friends' names were on the last announcement, but he felt a pang of disappointment upon hearing that the sector that he was currently in had yet to become a danger zone. Even though Pearl came to the house strictly to cut himself off from the rest of the island, he did wish for an excuse to leave, and perhaps find Diamond and Platinum.

_I can't be the only Dexholder on this island that killed someone. If there are others, they wouldn't punish themselves like this for this long, right?, _he thought, sitting up once more.

Upon sitting up, Pearl realized that he had a headache, probably due to his combined fatigue and stress. Laying down in a stranger's bed, with thoughts constantly plaguing him, didn't do anything to help his mental state. _I have to at least leave the bedroom._

With that, he decided that he would simply take a walk around the house, in an attempt to clear his mind, stretch his legs, and perhaps look for better food than the rolls he was given in his daypack. He pressed his feet against the cold wood beneath him, and stood up once more. His muscles in his legs felt strained upon doing so, but he knew it had to be done.

Approaching the door, Pearl turned the knob, and left the room. Out of instinct, he closed it quietly behind him. The hallway was completely dark, but he wasn't going to take a risk and turn on a light. He decided that he would just have to feel his way around in the dark to find the stairs.

Pressing his hand against the wall, he took slow, cautious steps further down the hallway. Just as his hand met the wooden surface of the bannister, there was suddenly a click from downstairs.

The cold air barely reached where he was, but he could still tell that someone had just opened the door. Somebody was inside. The worst part was that Pearl was completely defenseless, and he had no idea what he wanted to happen.

Pressing his hand over his mouth to suppress his breathing, he slowly bent down, trying to get a better look at who had entered the house. He was partially hidden by the bannister leading down the stairs, and given how dark it was, he could remain hidden from whoever entered the house. The one disadvantage was that it would also make identifying the person down below difficult for him.

_Why the hell did this have to happen now?! I need more time to think about what I want!, _he thought, glaring down towards the door. It felt like it took a lifetime for the person to close the door behind them, trapping the two of them inside the house together.

Pearl had wanted to remain in the house for as long as possible, as a way of punishing himself, but he never considered whether or not he wanted his life to end here. Naturally, he wanted to continue living, somewhere deep down. It would feel wrong if he was the one person to survive, though. He was a killer, and someone like him didn't deserve to survive. Also, it meant living without Dia and Platinum, and that was still unthinkable.

The person didn't call out to Pearl. Instead, they walked slowly and quietly towards the living room, which was to their left. The blond felt immensely relieved, and relaxed his body a little.

It was difficult to hear the person explore the living room, despite the fact that the rest of the house was completely silent. Pearl quickly arrived at the conclusion that the person intended to sneak up on anyone occupying the house. From that, the most obvious meaning was that the person intended to attack.

_Don't tell me I'm trapped in a house with someone who _enjoys _killing. _At that horrifying realization, Pearl's fingernails dug into his cheek, as he attempted to prevent his breathing from being heard. The sudden increase in pressure drawn onto his cheek cause him to flinch. Before he could stop himself, his knees wobbled, and he landed with a light thump on the floor.

Even though it was a light sound, and would hardly be noticeable in any other circumstances, that thump sounded like a deafening explosion, in his mind. As much as he tried to reassure himself that he wasn't heard, that it wasn't loud enough, and so forth, he couldn't shake the thought that he had given away his location to whoever was in the house, and in one of the most foolish matters possible.

"Hello?" a voice called out from downstairs.

Pearl shuddered. The house had been too quiet. One little disturbance to the silence had been as loud as his mind told him it had been, and he had been spotted. Continuing to hold his hand over his mouth, he began to slowly sidle backwards, hoping whoever was there would lose interest.

The person didn't, though. Instead, Pearl heard footsteps become louder, as they approached the hallway once more. Although it was still too dark to make out definitive features, he could tell this man was significantly taller than he was. There was no mistaking it; one of the older contestants, either Lance or N, had found him.

"Who's there? If you reveal yourself now, we can avoid an ugly confrontation", the man continued, trying to keep his tone calm and convincing.

Shaking his head, Pearl knew that the man was telling a blatant lie to get him to come down. Neither Lance nor N looked like the types to look for allies. It was clear that what he was saying was nothing more than bait, and Pearl refused to fall for it.

Then, there was a click from below. Before he could realize what was going on, the upstairs hallway lit up. His eyes felt irritated by the sudden burst of light, after staying in the dark for so long. He squinted, before realizing that he was completely exposed to the enemy.

Downstairs, Lance smirked. The young teenager on the next floor looked like helpless prey, caught in the worst possible place. Looking down, Pearl finally got a proper look at Lance, immediately putting a name to the face.

"I did ask you to tell me who you were. It's a shame that you even couldn't handle that simple request", Lance said, almost sounding a little apologetic for what was to happen next.

As he took long strides to the stairway, Pearl scrambled to his feet. Letting out a startled cry, he ran towards the bedroom, where he had spent many hours before laying restlessly. Opening the door handle, he felt a brief sense of relief return. He needed more time to think about what he wanted to happen, after all.

Seeing that Pearl was planning to get away from him, even briefly, Lance felt a wave of irritation move through his body. He quickened his pace, practically running up the stairs at that stage. His attempt to look elegant and graceful had been completely forgotten about. At that moment, all that mattered was adding to the list of those he killed.

Just as he approached the door, there was a turning sound, and of something sliding into place. _He didn't, _Lance thought incredulously, staring at the door. He pulled down on the handle, but nothing happened. The door remained in place. The kid had locked himself inside.

From the inside of the room, Pearl watched as the door handle was pulled down at a rapid pace, in an impatient manner. He stood by the window, trying to think of what to do. As much as he tried, though, his mind was completely focused on the door handle, which represented Lance's growing impatience and irritation.

_If he manages to get in here, I'm definitely going to die, _he realized. Pissing off one of the two people who could take joy in this game certainly wasn't his best strategy. That's when he decided he needed a new idea, and fast.

Just as he was trying to think, a bullet suddenly flew through the door. This was accompanied by a loud gunshot. Shrapnel flew from the door, but not enough to create an entrance for Lance. There was enough room for him to peek in through, his eye trying to locate Pearl.

"Unlock the door", he instructed, trying to keep his cool once more. He couldn't hide his fury over being outsmarted, however. All hopes of rational conversation had evaporated as soon as Pearl locked that door.

"No way! _Leave me alone_! I'm nothing like you!" Pearl cried out, his tone desperate.

He had no idea where the last part came from. He hadn't thought about his murderous act since Lance entered the house. If he had to assume something, it was that he was desperate to separate himself as much as possible from those who actually enjoyed killing.

Another shot was fired through the door, this time directly below the first shot. At first, Pearl was confused by the man's choice of where to shoot, but before he could deliberate, the head of the gun poked through the hole. Lance was barely able to move it, from the other side, but he seemed able to adjust it enough to try and shoot Pearl.

_Shit. I need to think of something to do- And fast, _he realized. Looking around the room in frustration, he noticed right away that there was nothing he could use to defend himself, considering that he had left his weapon behind in one of the other houses.

Almost out of desperation, he ran over to the window, curious to see if escape was possible. It was already questionable, considering he was up on the second floor. When he checked the outside of the window, he knew that all chances of escaping alive were practically impossible.

Down below, there was a beautiful garden. Flowers of various colours, particularly noticeable even in the darkness, complimented each other, and made the garden seem like a vivid portrait. Whoever lived in this house clearly had a deep interest in gardening. So, to protect their precious flowers from rodents wandering through the grass, a medium-sized fence stood there, protecting it. Metal spikes were amongst the fence's most visible features, making the beautiful image seem somewhat sinister.

Pearl knew that if he attempted to jump, there was a high chance he would end up landing somewhere along that fence. Even if he managed to avoid it, there was still the possibility of breaking his neck.

_There's no way I can escape. I'm stuck here. _Almost as soon as that thought struck Pearl, another shot fired through the hole in the door, this time more towards the boy's direction. It hit the wall, mere centimeters away from him.

"Come on out! It's awfully boring out here!" Lance demanded, his tone verging on hysteria.

Pearl had no idea what had happened to make this man act the way he was acting. At that moment, he didn't particularly care to find out. All he knew was that he needed to think of a way to avoid being killed by Lance, and fast.

_Bang._

A loud crash could be heard against the door. That was then followed by a grunt. Pearl came to the most obvious conclusion; Lance was trying to force the door open. It sounded as if it made contact with his shoulder, which would be the most logical place to put his body weight into, if he was to try and open the door.

_Bang._

The door hinges began to give away. Pearl knew that, at this rate, he didn't have more than a minute to decide.

_Do I really want to die at the hands of someone like this guy?, _he asked himself. Shaking his head, he knew the answer. Pearl knew that what he had done earlier that day was terrible, and nothing could ever atone for it, but that didn't mean he deserved to die at the hands of someone who actually enjoyed doing something like this.

Lance just wanted to add him to his number of kills. Pearl refused to become another number on his list. The last thing he wanted was to give this man another reason to be overly confident in such a horrible situation.

He glanced over at the window once more, feeling a cold sweat break out on his forehead. He found it hard to breathe. After seeing what laid in the garden below, it was clear that the chances of surviving were practically null and void.

_Bang._

_I'm gonna die either way, aren't I?, _Pearl thought, and approached the window. While he moved relatively quickly, every step felt painfully slow, considering the fact that he knew that his life would end within the next five minutes. If things went according to plan, he was essentially walking towards his death.

_Bang._

The hinges were barely hanging on. Both Lance and Pearl knew that one more hit should get rid of the door. Lance felt adrenaline overtake him, considering how well he had trapped the boy in the room. After his attempt to outsmart Lance, the man decided that he would make him suffer.

Pearl, on the other hand, wasn't thinking of anything in particular. All his mind was concentrated on his actions, and the desperate need to escape from Lance. Gritting his teeth, he gripped the handles of the windows, turned them into a horizontal position, and opened the two windows out wide.

The cold night air rushed in, filling the stuffy room with freshness. For a moment, Pearl admired the stars, noting how clear the night was. He couldn't take too much time to admire it, however.

He turned around, and sat on the window ledge, taking one last look at the room where he had spent so many hours before, wallowing in his own guilt. _Hey, have I made it clear enough that I feel guilty about all this?_

Deep down, Pearl did know that it would come to something like this. He desperately wanted to meet Dia and Platinum again. He had taken his punishment by not seeing them before his death, but one thing he could be grateful for was that he didn't have to stay around to hear whether or not they died.

_Bang._

The door flew off the hinges, and fell onto the bed. Lance ran into the room, taking a second to locate Pearl. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing the young boy perched on the ledge of an open window. Then, he realized what he planned to do; this teenager was planning on denying him an extra addition to his kill list.

Lance pointed the gun towards him. Pearl took that as his signal, and released his grip on the window sill. He pushed himself backwards as he did so. As the man fired a shot, the bullet barely missed the tip of the boy's shoe. For a moment, there was a cry from outside that pierced through the silent night. Just as there was a thud, the cry was cut off short.

"You're kidding me", he snarled, and ran towards the window.

Leaning over the window, Lance was fuming at what he saw. Several feet below him laid the body of the boy who had been perched on the window ledge seconds earlier. His legs were twisted at an awkward angle. A metal spike jutted out of the boy's throat, narrowly missing the metal collar. His head was bent backwards, hiding his face from Lance's view.

Even though Pearl spent his time on the island feeling as if he didn't deserve to live on, after murdering Red. Regardless of that, he still allowed himself to do one last thing for himself; to avoid dying at the hands of someone who enjoyed murdering. Although it was nowhere near as pleasing as finding Diamond or Platinum once more, it was still a fulfillment that had allowed him to die with some level of contentment.

It had infuriated Lance. Pearl had caught on that he was going to be nothing more than another number to be added to his list of victims, and decided to die on his own terms instead. Due to that, Lance's victim count remained unchanged since that morning. _I was brought here for one purpose, and I can't even carry it out._

_I was outsmarted by a child. _Shaking his head, Lance tightened his grip on the pistol, and left the room. Striding downstairs, he attempted to think of his next plan of action, but found it hard to think. He just couldn't take his mind off the fact that he had been outsmarted by someone who looked like easy prey. _This is going to be a bad day, _he thought.

**_15 Remaining._**


	37. Chapter 37

Ever since she got to the balcony, Sapphire's concentration hadn't been broken. She had spent the last few hours lying on her stomach, peeking through the bars of the balcony. The barrel of the Ingram poked out between the middle bars, but she was prepared to stand up and aim it elsewhere at a moment's notice.

Her concentration was broken all at once, however. From somewhere that didn't sound far away, a loud cry rang out, disturbing the silence the island had previously been in. It only lasted three seconds, if even that, before it was unexpectedly cut off.

That caused Sapphire to sit upright, accidentally knocking the gun against the bars. She pointed the gun through the gaps once more, even though she knew that whoever had caused that scream was a good distance away. Still keeping a close eye on whatever activity was going on beneath the balcony, she slowly folded her legs. Leaning forward slightly, she discovered that it was easier to see from this position, as well as being more comfy. _Then again, lying in one position for hours on end is bound to get annoying after a while, _she thought.

It was difficult to continue thinking about such mundane things. The cry that had resonated a few moments earlier continued to resonate in her mind, and she couldn't help but wonder what had happened. As far as she was concerned, she had a pretty good idea about it.

Another person had died.

The way that cry had been cut off short, and how desperate it sounded, indicated that the person who had done so was in grave danger. If Sapphire was right, that would mean that there were only fifteen left. Or, even less.

_I just want to go home already, _she thought, staring out into the night. She didn't want to think about what the next twenty four hours had in store for her and the others at the clinic. They had been lucky to avoid a confrontation with Lance or N so far, with the exception of Faitsu and Gold, but they would surely take notice of the clinic soon. Even though she was exceptional at battling, the idea of killing others was too much.

There was one thing she was certain of already, though; if anyone attempted to hurt Ruby or Emerald, she wouldn't hesitate to attack. _I promised Ruby I'd-_

Sapphire's track of thought was quickly cut off when she suddenly felt something touch her left shoulder. She flinched, and moved forward. Turning around, she tried to consider what to do with the gun. Then, she lowered it upon seeing who it was.

"Did I scare you?" Ruby asked.

She had no idea how he walked up to the balcony without her noticing. She decided that she must have been too absorbed in her thoughts, and reading in too much into that scream. Despite that, she was relieved to see him.

Ruby continued to stand there silently, a look of concern on his face. He was holding a mug in one of his hands, and warm steam was slowly rising from it. As he continued to look at her, he wrapped his other hand around the mug, presumably for warmth.

"Nope. What're you doing up here?" Sapphire said, trying to sound relaxed. Her eyes glanced at the mug once more, already knowing why he came up.

"Now, why don't I believe that? Anyway, I made some coffee. I thought you could use some", Ruby answered, holding the mug outwards.

Sapphire laid the gun down on the floor, hoping that she wouldn't come to regret that move. Besides, it would only be for a minute at the most. She then took the mug from him, briefly letting it warm her hands. Then, she brought it to her lips, and took a small sip. She grimaced at its bitter taste, and set the cup down.

"I don't get how you can drink this stuff", she muttered, picking up the Ingram once more.

"It's good for staying awake", he explained, shrugging. Then, he looked down. "I'm sorry I didn't come to see you earlier. You haven't been missing anything downstairs. I wanted to come see you sooner, but Kris was worried I'd disrupt your concentration."

"Well, it's not like she's wrong, or anything. I don't really care. I haven't seen anyone out here! I'm still pretty sure Gold scared him off."

Ruby felt relieved upon hearing that she hadn't met any trouble, but it didn't exactly surprise him. If anything had happened, then they would have certainly heard something from downstairs. Sapphire would have had no qualms about disobeying Kris' instructions to shoot N on sight, and since there had been no gunshots, Ruby assumed that she was on the right track in guessing that he had been scared away.

Looking down, he didn't really want to discuss N, or any other aspects of the game. Every aspect of those topics were grim and grueling. For a moment or two, he tried to think of a better topic to bring up. When he couldn't think of anything, he decided to just take a step forward, and entwine his fingers in Sapphire's.

Slowly, he leant in, giving her a chance to reconsider. She didn't lean back, or protest. Ruby then brushed his nose gently against hers, before kissing her softly. Sapphire didn't appear surprised in the least, and kissed him back. After a second or two, he pulled away, and took a step back. His face was turning a shade of pink.

"Sorry. It's been a while since we got the chance to do that", Ruby said, and emitted a small laugh. Sapphire smirked, rolling her eyes.

"D'you think the others have figured out anything yet?" she asked, in reference to their newly established relationship.

"Hmm... I think if anyone's after catching on, it's Emerald. Did you see the way he kept looking over at us today? I'd be surprised if he hadn't caught on by now."

Sapphire agreed with Ruby on that point. She had noticed the way he kept glancing over at them with an eyebrow raised whenever they so much as smiled at each other. If anyone would have been able to predict when they got together, it was Emerald. Before she could make a comment, Ruby began speaking once more.

"I know that Emerald acts like our behaviour annoys him so much, but I think he's enjoying being around us just as much as we enjoy being around him. I doubt there's hardly any other group on this island who has three people from the same region. We don't need to worry about each other. We're all safe here. So, I think we should let him think what he wants to think", he continued, his tone turning solemn.

"That _is _pretty lucky for us", she agreed.

After that, they both became quiet. Then, Ruby took a few steps forward, and pressed his hands against the barrier. He put his hands on his hips, his back remaining turned to her. His head was turned upwards slightly, towards the night sky. The stars were slowly becoming weaker to see as each hour passed, but they still remained a sight to be admired.

"What a beautiful night. I'm envious that you had this to admire for the past few hours", he commented, still not turning around.

"You weren't missin' anything. I just kept looking down there for that guy, y'know?" Sapphire replied, before walking over to him, and looked up as well. "It is really pretty, though."

They stood side by side for several seconds, gazing up at the sky. Occasionally, they glanced at each other, before looking away embarrassedly. Neither of them seemed to particularly mind, however. This quiet moment was unexpected, but certainly welcome.

It was the first time Sapphire truly got a chance to admire the night sky, and it felt emphasized by the fact that she was watching it with Ruby. She wanted to say something to him, but nothing felt appropriate. Instead, she kept her thoughts to herself.

If there was anything she wanted to say, it was that she wanted to gaze up at the night sky like this once more, if they managed to get off the island alive together.

Then, Ruby gave a small cough, and turned around. He picked up the coffee mug, and proceeded to walk further.

"I didn't mean to disrupt your concentration, but I should go back downstairs. If you need anything, I'll come straight back up, okay?" he said, looking back over his shoulder.

"Hey, wait!" Sapphire called out just as Ruby's foot touched the second step of the stairway leading down.

He turned around, looking at her questioningly. Almost as if she didn't expect him to turn around, she raised her eyebrows, and then looked away. Even though she wouldn't admit it, she was slightly embarrassed by her next request.

"Stay up here a little longer", she mumbled, "Kris won't be mad at you."

Ruby smiled at her, noting her embarrassment. Then, he walked back over towards her, and sat down on the concrete. He patted the ground next to him, and Sapphire followed suit. She laid the Ingram down beside her, and hugged her knees to her chest.

After a few seconds, she removed one arm from her knee, and instead gripped Ruby's hand once more. As Sapphire continued to look at the stars, he stared at her for a few moments in awe. He wouldn't have minded if they could stay like that for a long time.

* * *

><p>Emerald found the silence in the room to be incredibly frustrating. Kris and X were sitting opposite him, neither attempting to make conversation. It seemed that Kris was burnt out after the eventful night. Faitsu sat next to Emerald, occasionally running her fingers over her bandage. Gold continued to sleep in the room nearby.<p>

Stretching his body out, Emerald began to realize it had been hours since he had gotten any sleep. Knowing how important staying well rested was, he stood up, causing Kris to look up at him. He got up out of his chair, and took shaky steps away from the area where the four were sitting.

"Where are you going?" Faitsu piped up.

"I need some sleep. Kris, you said it's important to keep well rested, right?" he replied, turning towards the older girl.

"Of course!" she agreed, and then bit her lip, and looked down.

She looked as if she was contemplating to say something extra. If Emerald had to guess, he assumed that she was worried about how Gold was doing. His arrival hadn't been in very calm circumstances, and he could understand why she would be worried about him.

Before she could speak for herself, though, there was a small cry from Faitsu. Everyone looked over at her, She was cradling her arm once more, a slightly pained expression on her face. Kris immediately rushed to her side, and put her hand over the younger girl's.

"Are you okay? What happened?" she asked. Faitsu's eyes widened, and her face turned flushed upon suddenly gaining everyone's attention.

"O-Oh, don't worry about me. I accidentally dug my nail into my arm, that's all", she mumbled, sounding embarrassed.

Kris felt slightly calmer upon hearing that it wasn't anything serious. Smiling, she removed her hand from Faitsu's, and walked back over to her seat. Emerald, who had stopped in his tracks, continued to walk towards the bedroom.

"Kris. It's been a few hours since we put that bandage on her. Should it be changed?" X spoke up quietly, with uncertainty.

"That's a good point. Would you be willing to do it?"

Nodding silently, X stood up and walked over to Faitsu. He beckoned her to stand up, which she complied to. For a moment, they looked over at Kris, curious as to what she would do. She simply smiled up at them, but her eyes kept darting towards the first room. X assumed that by the time he was finished changing Faitsu's bandages, Kris would no longer be in the room. He understood as well as Emerald did that she was worried about Gold.

The two young teenagers walked in silence towards the third door. Opening it up, X turned on the light, illuminating the room. Faitsu propped herself up on the table once more, and rolled up her sleeve, holding her arm out. Wordlessly, the boy began to unwrap her bandages slowly, hoping to avoid any discomfort.

"It looks like you're healing up nicely. Are you still in pain?" he asked distractedly as he grabbed another roll of gauze.

"No, no, I'm fine. I suppose when I accidentally hurt myself, then it'll affect me, but other than that, I'm okay", she explained hurriedly.

Giving a small nod, X accepted her explanation and began to roll the gauze slowly around her arm, starting from just below the elbow. Faitsu watched as he did so, noticing how focused he seemed on the simple task.

She felt slightly awkward at the lack of conversation, especially since he had been generous enough to take care of her as much as he had been doing so. Trying to rack her brain for potential conversation, she finally blurted out the thing that first came to mind.

"Um... Do you really think we can all get off the island together?" she asked, and immediately regretted opening up on such a heavy topic. X didn't seem particularly bothered by her choice in question, though.

"I was skeptical. But, Kris seems so determined for all of us to escape this place alive. Her faith really is something else. So, I think there's a possibility we will. We just need to expand our group, and talk about what we could do", he replied.

"I suppose you have a point... What are you going to do if we get out of here, though? What can _any _of us do?"

"Kris never said. I don't want to be anywhere near the public after this. That said, I want to move on with my life, though. You know, I was thinking that if everyone wanted to fight back, I could try and bandage everyone up, whenever they needed it", he explained, a small smile visible on his lips. "I'm growing to like doing this quite a lot. Much more than what I used to do."

Faitsu bit her lip as she looked at him, wondering what he was talking about. X glanced up at her briefly, and realized that she had no idea what he was referring to. _Well, that's a first, _he thought, but had no complaints about it.

"I won a pretty big tournament as a kid, and everyone reckoned I'd grow up to be the next Champion. I liked the sound of it at first, but there was just constant attention, and people _everywhere. _I had enough. It was fun, but I want to do something more low-key", he said.

"I had no idea... That could have all been avoided for you if people had learned that liberation is the best thing to do. I'm so sorry."

As Faitsu continued to look down, X suddenly came to a stop in his bandaging process. Reflecting on how hellish his life had been after winning that tournament was never a pleasant experience, but the girl's upbringing of liberation had confused him briefly. When he finally pieced together why her words sounded so odd, he stared up at her.

"Aren't those the same ideals as N's? After everything, you're still willing to share his beliefs?" he asked.

Faitsu almost lunged back from him, astounded by her own slip. She had gotten caught up in X's story, and almost revealed that she would always follow N's ideals. _I need to come back from this, and quickly. How could I have been so stupid?!_

"It's going to take me a long time to completely abandon his ideas. I was raised on them after all, but as for N, I no longer trust him. Could you please be patient? I promise I'll do my best to abandon his ideals but... But it's still tough", she murmured.

X gazed at her for a few more moments, and then continued to fix up her new bandages. Faitsu began to grow nervous that he wouldn't speak up. If he had begun to believe that she still stood by N, their plan would be destroyed.

"I understand. It's hard to abandon ideals you spent your whole life following. But, if you're willing to stand with us, we'll help you move past them", he finally replied, still concentrated on bandaging her arm.

"Thank you so much, X", she said, trying to sound genuinely grateful, "I'll completely support you as well. You'd make a great caretaker."

Holding the gauze together, X finally stood up properly again. Unexpectedly, he smiled once more, and held his hand out to her. She took it, and hopped off the table. Once she did, she retracted her hand once more, but saw that X remained to smile.

She mustered a smile back, feeling genuinely relived that he believed her. _That was too close, _she thought as they made their way back to the waiting room.

**_15 Remaining._**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note: <em>**I'm so sorry for the late update. I was incredibly busy this week, and had a few sick days too. I also would've had this chapter up sooner if this site wasn't down for an entire day.

Anyway, thank you all again for your continuous support, and I should have the next chapter up soon!


	38. Chapter 38

Several hours had passed since Pearl's death. The second night on the island had been incredibly quiet in comparison to the first. This was perhaps due to the fact that N was too busy lurking near the clinic, ensuring his plan was carried out, and also the fact that Lance had spent the rest of the night plotting the areas to check, after his failed attempt to kill Pearl.

Many others were trying to catch up on rest, or calm themselves down after the traumatic day. By the time a new dawn broke on the island, the majority of contestants were resting, or just relaxing. Amongst that majority was Y. She wasn't exactly relaxing, however.

For the past few hours, she had been curled up on her side, trying to get some sleep. She had turned her back to Blue's body, which still laid where it had fallen last night. It was difficult for Y to sleep, knowing that the person she killed was only feet away from her.

"Hello. Are you all listening? It's 6AM, which means it is time for the next report."

Lysandre's voice blared out throughout various parts of the island. Y's eyes shot open upon hearing the voice of the man who she only recently met, and sat up. She took out her map, along with a pencil, and waited for him to announce the new names and danger zones.

"Only one person is no longer with us; participant number fourteen, Pearl. I will not lecture you on what should be obvious, but bear in mind that if you do not kill for twenty four hours, you will all die. With that aside, your new danger zones are F-2 at 7AM, G-5 at 9AM, and D-7 at 11AM. Giovanni will continue in six hours from now."

Once he was finished, the speaker switched off, and Y was left in silence. She folded out the map, examining the new danger zones. The sector she assumed she was in, B-5, remained safe. Regardless of that, she didn't want to spend much more time around that area. It was disturbing to know that a dead body was so close to her.

All of a sudden, something squawked from behind her. There was the sound of pecking, and then another squawk. Y suddenly felt a sense of queasiness. There was some type of bird behind her, and a dead body. She didn't need to guess what it had come to the area for.

Chewing on her lip, she grabbed the mace, which still laid by her side. The spiked ball was still covered in blood, as she couldn't have brought herself to clean it all those hours ago. It was horrific to look at, but she wasn't going to discard her weapon because of it.

Letting out a small groan, she braced herself first, and then stood up. Once she had adjusted to standing after sitting for so long, she then turned around, mace held out.

A Mandibuzz was perched on the grass beside Blue. Its beak was close to her face, which had turned nearly completely red. Bits of skin were missing at that point due to the bird's pecking. The Mandibuzz looked upwards upon hearing someone step towards it.

Then, when it saw that it was just another person, it turned away, and started pulling on Blue's ear. Y watched in disgust as the creature snacked on bits and pieces of the girl who had been her ally less than twelve hours ago.

Taking another step forward, she swung the mace at the bird, causing it to squawk in surprise and hop backwards. Y glared at it, holding the mace out to indicate that she could do it again, and not miss. The Mandibuzz glared back at her, and ruffled its feathers.

"Get away from her, you disgusting thing! _Go!" _she snarled, swinging the mace once more.

One of the spikes barely brushed the bird's feathers, but it was enough to rile a loud squawk from it. Letting out a few more angry cries, it spread its wings, and launched off the ground. It flew over Y's head, and deeper into the island, presumably looking for a snack that wasn't guarded by another person.

Once it was gone, Y took a few steps forward. Collapsing to her knees, she dropped the mace once more. As soon as it fell into the grass, it was completely forgotten about for the time being. Her concentration was fully focused on Blue, who was being snacked on by a vulture only moments beforehand.

Gently, as if the older girl would break, Y laid a hand on her shoulder, and turned her slowly onto her back. The right side of her face was missing pieces of skin, due to the Mandibuzz, but the other side of her face remained the same way it did the night before. Streaks of blood remained plastered on her face. Her expression still conveyed one of shock, as if she had been stopped mid-motion from reacting to Y's killing blow.

Y held her breath as she ran a hand through Blue's hair, which was then matted. The top of her head was completely caved in from her death, and the younger girl didn't dare look for long at it, thinking of what that Mandibuzz had been feeding on beforehand. _Oh, wow. It's because of me that this happened to you, huh?, _she thought.

The truth was that Y had liked Blue a lot. The girl had acted like an older sister towards her, and constantly tried to keep her spirits up. But, the more time they spent together, the more worried Y became of the future. She knew a time would come where they would have to fight each other. Both of them had wanted to live, and would be willing to fight for that chance.

Due to this, Y saw no other solution. She had to fight against Blue before she became too close to her. If it had gotten to the point where they were the only two left standing, she knew that there was no way she could bring herself to kill her then. If she wanted to have any chance of survival, she had to kill before attachment got the best of her.

_It still hurts, though. I never wanted to do anything like this, _she thought as she continued to gaze down at the body. Looking around, she figured there was one thing she could do for Blue, at least.

She recalled the girl's uneasiness about birds earlier, when Y was explaining what she wanted to do in the future. The last thing Blue would want was to remain in a prime spot where birds could pick at her body as they pleased. Although Y's alternative to avoid this probably wouldn't sit well with Blue either, she saw no other option.

Holding her breath to avoid becoming nauseous, she put her hands beneath Blue's body, and lifted her up. Despite the fact that the girl had been significantly taller than her, she dangled limply in her arms. She felt far too light.

Nevertheless, Y didn't complain over that fact. She continued walking forward, trying to keep her eyes ahead, instead of looking downwards. When she approached the cliff's edge once more, however, she finally brought herself to look down.

She wished she could make Blue look a little more at peace. It had been several hours since her death, though, and rigor mortis was almost certainly after setting in by that point. Besides, the appearance of her body would make no difference at this point, especially considering her next plan of action.

Down beneath her, the water lapped gently against the rocks. It was another peaceful morning, judging by the sea. Y wanted to take a moment to admire it, but knew that trying to do so would be pointless.

"Hey, no vultures will get at you now, right?" she said in a shaky tone to the body.

Then, she held her arms out, balancing the body over the edge of the cliff. Lowering her arms, Blue's body began to lean downwards. Squeezing her eyes shut, Y let go. She didn't open them again for quite some time, even after she heard the distant splash from below, indicating that Blue had successfully reached the bottom of the cliff, safe from any birds.

When Y finally opened her eyes again, she immediately took several steps backwards, not wanting to look down, afraid of what she might see. Taking a few deep breaths, she attempted to calm herself, but it was difficult, considering she had just thrown the body of a person she murdered into the sea.

Hugging her knees to her chest, Y tried to get all thoughts of Blue, and what she had done to her, out of her head. She was tired of all of this. If the circumstances had been different, she and Blue would have been great friends, but instead she was given no other choice but to kill her.

Three of her friends were dead, and she was surprised that X had made it this far. It wasn't a complete relief, though, as it made her even more anxious about the thought of fighting him later. She had no idea how things turned out like this. Their group was falling apart so quickly, and nothing could be done to ever repair it.

_I just want to go home, _Y thought. Tears welled up in her eyes, mainly out of frustration and sorrow over her inability to do anything about her situation. The program had taken its toll on her a long time ago.

* * *

><p>Diamond gazed over at Platinum. It had been a small while since the report, but neither had said a word to each other. Neither of them knew what to say. It was difficult to think properly, especially after hearing that the one person to die that night was the same person they had been so hopeful about finding.<p>

Platinum had her back turned to Diamond for once. Her head was lowered, and judging by the way her shoulders were shaking, she appeared to making some attempt to hide the fact that she was crying. Diamond had made no attempts to conceal the fact that he was doing so, and saw no reason not to. One of his best friends was dead, and if there was any time to be upset, it was right at that moment.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, Platinum finally turned towards Diamond. Her face was still streaked with tears, and she was hesitant to meet his gaze. Then, she sidled towards him, until their knees were brushing.

Then, she did something he didn't expect at all. She turned him around, so that he was facing her. She then put her hands on his shoulder blades, and pulled her body in closer, creating a gentle hug. In any other circumstances, Diamond reckoned that he would have become a blushing mess, but after what had happened, he continued to sit there, not quite sure how to react.

"I'm so sorry, Diamond", she whispered in his ear. It sounded as if she was struggling to speak properly. Diamond had no idea how he would muster up the ability to speak, but he tried.

"W-Why are you sorry? He was your best friend too-" he began, but was quickly cut off.

"We should have gone looking for him! We might have, if I didn't want to train. I'm so sorry. I really did waste time here, after all", she explained, and buried her head in his shoulder as she felt tears threaten to fall once more.

"I don't blame you. Y-You wanted to train, and that's important, right? Besides, Pearl would probably prefer that we're able to fight back", he reassured her, trying to keep his tone calm.

Once he reassured her, Platinum stiffened up. Tears continued to fall down her cheeks, but she no longer made any attempt to hide them, or stop them altogether. Instead, she sat up, and faced Diamond directly.

"If that's the case, then I'll continue training. I want to get off this island alive, with you. Then, we'll find a way to undo all this- You've heard of those legends too, haven't you? That there are Pokemon out there able to reverse time, and grant wishes? If we are unable to undo all of this, and they are just legends, then we can fight against the men who caused this. I refuse to let my training go to waste", she said, sounding rather determined.

Diamond raised his eyebrows ever so slightly. It was surprising to see how quickly Platinum was trying to form a plan of action, but he understood why she would do so. If they couldn't think of something to do, then it would mean accepting that Pearl was dead and gone. Neither of them were willing to accept that yet. _We're meant to be a trio. If one of us is gone now, what'll that mean for the both of us?, _he thought.

"I'm on board! Do you want me to supervise your training or... or..." Diamond spoke, but quickly lost track of his thoughts.

It was so surreal that he was able to talk about matters such as training so suddenly. It felt wrong. Trying to talk normally had caused his eyes to sting once more. Knowing what was about to happen, he finally returned Platinum's hug, and squeezed her tightly.

"Not right now. Let's take a break, shall we?" she offered softly, knowing as well as he did that neither were in the right state of mind to concentrate on anything other than their deceased friend.

They could talk all they wanted of plans and goals to save Pearl, and everyone else who lost their lives in the program, but nothing would change the fact that they had to cope with his death as of that moment. Her motivation left as quickly as it came. All she wanted at that moment was to have a moment to try and clear her mind, and perhaps comfort Diamond while she was at it.

As Diamond began to weep once more, Platinum ran her hands gently up and down his back, trying to ignore the fact that she wasn't in a much better state. They remained hugging each other like that for quite some time, thoughts of training and future plans completely forgotten about.

**_15 Remaining._**


	39. Chapter 39

Looking down at his now heavily marked map, Lance felt a lot more at ease. Instead of dwelling on his anger over losing out on another kill, he decided to keep on moving, changing his course of action as he did so. Considering his search throughout houses had turned up with no results, he decided to revert back to checking areas without shelter, considering that all of his past kills had been outdoors.

After the 6AM announcement, he decided to leave the house. He spent the night planning out which weapons he could use on those he knew, and weighed up their abilities. There were some he would definitely prefer if he didn't run into, but he figured he should be able to handle most of the people he should run into.

Lance saw no need to look around the area before he left. He had more than enough of the housing estate for one night, and even though he had managed to keep calm, it was still incredibly frustrating to know that the person who had outsmarted him was so close by. Removing his pistol from his belt, he continued onwards.

He began to walk in a north-western direction, narrowly avoiding the danger zone directly to the west of the housing estate. As well as that, he made an effort to avoid the clinic, in case N was still nearby. The last thing he wanted was to die on the account of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

His journey in that direction had been a quiet one. There wasn't anyone in the sectors he was walking through, but it didn't frustrate him. The number of participants was at a measly fifteen, which meant the chances of coming across people immediately were becoming slim.

Lance switched the gun from hand to hand as he walked, indecisive about which hand to hold it in. This process continued for about twenty minutes, until he finally came to a stop.

According to the map, he was possibly near the center of the island. A cluster of trees hid the inside of the sector from him, piquing his curiosity. Aside from indoor areas, a forest would be a prime place for people to run to. Lance preferred exploring such an area too, considering there was no rooms to lock themselves inside.

Feeling much more in his comfort zone, Lance strode in between the trees, glancing around the open space. At first, he didn't see anything, apart from the natural surroundings. Upon looking around a second time, though, he spotted something that caused him to hold his breath.

Lightly dozing off under a tall tree was the one person who managed to frighten him; Yellow. Seeing her look so peaceful left Lance conflicted. He could take the opportunity to attack her while she was vulnerable, but he knew if he didn't kill her right away, it could easily result in his death. _Well, at least I know not to underestimate her strength this time, _he thought.

Slowly, Lance began to put one foot in front of the other, his heart pounding. It almost felt as if his body was controlling itself. This would be one of the biggest risks he took in the program, but if he managed to pull it off, it would almost guarantee him victory.

As he moved closer, though, the assumption that this was a risk began to waver. Upon closer inspection, he saw that Yellow's arms and legs were covered in bloody cuts. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, wondering who had managed to get to her before he did.

Lance smirked. Being beaten had been an embarrassment for him, and it was even more humiliating for him to admit that he was genuinely afraid of this frail-looking girl. Finally, he would be able to end that embarrassment, though. He clicked the safety off, trying to sound as quiet as possible.

It wasn't quiet enough, though. Before he could point the gun forward, Yellow's eyes shot open, causing Lance to take several steps backward, holding his breath. _Run, _he told himself, _You still have a chance to get out of here alive._

Yellow appeared lost at first, but once her eyes adjusted, she let out a small gasp. Then, her surprised look turned into a glare. She grasped something beside her, and held it upwards. It appeared to be some kind of crossbow. Although it wasn't as powerful as a gun, a good shot would provide fatal damage.

Lance tried not to think of the possibility of being killed by this young girl. Instead, he tried to maintain a calm demeanor. He pointed the gun at her, his finger on the trigger. Smirking, he watched as her glare became slightly less vicious.

"Why are you back here?" Yellow asked coldly.

The older man raised an eyebrow. _Back here?, _he thought. Then, he looked down at her cuts once more. _Oh. She thinks _I _did that. Has she really grown that delusional?_

"I enjoy the outdoors, you know. Don't forests make you feel nostalgic?" he replied nonchalantly, taking another step forward into the grass.

Yellow shook her head, not buying his explanation. When he took a step forward, it caused her to stiffen up. Seconds later, she squeezed her eyes shut, and slowly bent one knee. Pressing her foot against the ground, she stood up, ignoring the shooting pain that ran up her leg as she did so. The second leg took less effort, but it was still impossible to ignore how her legs hurt at the sensation of standing up once more.

As she slowly stood up, Lance watched in shock. Even though Yellow's legs were battered and torn, she still managed to stand up without protest, and barely showing any pain on her face. _She's still as strong as ever._

"I don't know why you're here, but I want to know something. Have you killed?" she asked, continuing to point the crossbow at him, her stare unwavering. Upon hearing her question, Lance attempted to put aside his shock after seeing her stand, and decided to answer her question.

"What do you _expect? _I'm hardly going to stand around and let myself die. It's kill or be killed, Yellow! I refuse to let myself die!" he exclaimed, making it sound as if it were obvious.

"And you're going to try and kill me?" Yellow spoke quietly, but the anger in her voice was still unmistakable. She didn't lower the crossbow. Lance, on the other hand, lowered his gun ever so slightly.

"Honestly? I don't know if I should. I know what you're capable of, after all. You're strong, I'll give you that. But, it appears you suffered a nasty accident. Tell me, are you in _any _state to fight?" he taunted, waving the gun around.

"If it's against you, I'll do whatever I can. You wouldn't hesitate to kill me."

"Very true. I'm still hoping for revenge, you know. I would much rather let you suffer for longer, though. I'll fight you later, perhaps right before my battle against N. I haven't forgiven you-" Lance said, but was suddenly cut off.

A metal arrow whizzed through the air as he spoke. He didn't even see Yellow's finger approach the trigger of the crossbow. By the time he saw the head of the metal spike, it was mere inches away from his face. He narrowly moved his head to the right, but not quickly enough.

The arrow scraped his cheek, drawing a little blood as it did so. Lance blinked a few times, and then stared at Yellow in shock. She continued glaring at him steadily, almost waiting for him to make a move. He quickly tried to replace his shock with indifference, but failed to fully do so.

"I don't want to fight. But, I know if you leave this island alive, you'll cause more death and tragedy. If you want to fight against me, I'll be willing to fight", Yellow explained slowly.

Lance held the gun out, pointed towards her, but he couldn't help but notice how his hand was wavering. Even though she had strong morals, it was clear that the girl was willing to fight against him at a moment's notice, and she would be ruthless, despite her injuries.

"I'll ask you again; are you in any position to fight?" he asked, almost trying to sound sympathetic.

The truth was that he didn't want to fight her. He would much rather N, or anybody else, would get to her first and take care of her. She had a personal reason to hate him, and he didn't want to provoke that. _Besides, I need to be in the best shape possible for my battle against N. Even if I finish Yellow off, I'll probably end up completely worn down, _he thought.

"If I shoot again, I promise I won't miss", Yellow warned, keeping a completely calm demeanor.

Shrugging, Lance spun on his heel, shoved the gun back into the grip of his belt, and began to walk away. Before he walked too far out, he looked back over his shoulder, towards the girl. She had lowered her crossbow, much to his relief.

"I'm not going to underestimate you. All I'll say is that you're at a severe disadvantage right now, and if we ever meet again, I already know the outcome. Until then!" he called out, waving a hand.

Despite his arrogant aura, Lance barely believed a word he said. Even though Yellow must have been in immense pain, she managed to maintain a cold, threatening stance, and even managed to show that she was ready to hurt him at a moment's notice. _N, if you find her, take care of her for me. I don't want to lose to her a second time, _he thought.

Then, he raised a hand to his cheek, where the arrow had cut him. Concentrating heavily on his action, a warm glow emitted from his hand, and the wound quickly closed up. Once he removed his hand, though, he felt slightly dizzy, and his eyelids felt heavier.

That was when he realized that he was left at a disadvantage too. Considering healing managed to take up some of his own energy, it would be difficult to fight back in that state. As Lance left the forest, he made a mental note to ease up on how much he used his healing powers.

Back in the forest, Yellow stared out at the area where Lance had been moments ago. Once she was no longer able to hear his footsteps, she dropped the crossbow into the grass, where it landed with a light thud. Then, she collapsed as well, letting out a small cry as she did so.

Wincing, she gently ran her hands over the cuts in her legs. Her attempt to stand up hadn't been without consequence, and she couldn't understand how Lance didn't notice how much pain she was going through while she attempted to stand up to him.

Still, Yellow decided not to ponder too much on it. She had managed to scare him off while she had been in a vulnerable position, and that was more than she could ask for at that moment.

She kept replaying Lance's last words in her head. Even though she could scare him, he did have a point. After falling into that trap, she had suffered quite a lot, and knew that any chances of her successfully escaping from any threats had been narrowly slimmed.

_I'll still do what I can, though. I can't let Lance be the one to leave this island alive, _she thought. Then, another thought occurred to Yellow.

_Is there any chance of me being the one to survive here?_

Of course, there were still people alive that Yellow would be happy to see leave this island. In fact, Lance, and possibly N, were the only people she didn't want to survive. At the same time, though, she didn't want to die.

Disturbed by the sudden thought that she might not live to see the end of the day, Yellow's grip on her jeans tightened. Her hands turned white, but the cuts she received from the barbed wire became a deeper shade of red. Even though the pain in her legs was easing up, she still felt slightly nauseous at her most recent revelation. Once she started thinking about that topic, she was unable to stop.

_Am I really going to die today?_

**_15 Remaining._**


	40. Chapter 40

When Gold woke up, it was a little past eight. He opened his eyes blearily at first. The light sound of laughter could be heard from the waiting room, and it was then that he remembered joining a rather large alliance the previous night. He was relieved to hear that the mood seemed light.

He also remembered that he intended to extend that group. Green and Silver were probably still waiting for him to return. Wondering about how they would reaction upon hearing he found a large alliance hoping to escape, he decided that it was time to ask to briefly leave the clinic, with the purpose of finding them.

Gold wasted no time in getting up, stretching quickly, and walking over to the door. Before he left, he took another look around the room. One of the beds towards the end of the room was unmade, causing him to look at it in confusion. _Did someone else really sleep in here? How did I sleep for so long?_

Not dwelling too much on it, he opened the door to the waiting room, causing all conversations to halt. Kris was closest to the door he just exited, and she looked at him in surprise for a moment, but that surprise was quickly replaced by a relived smile.

"You were out for a long time", she commented. Laughing a little awkwardly, Gold shoved his hands into his pockets.

"I didn't think I'd sleep that long. Guess I was more tired than I thought!" he replied.

The others in the room were staring over at the two of them. Ruby and Sapphire, who were standing outside the door leading to the doctor's office, were now looking up, almost a little surprised to see Gold again after so many hours. Faitsu was seated in one of the chairs, fiddling with the hem of her shorts. She seemed to look a little nervous, for some reason. X was looking at him blankly, also seated.

"Hey, where's Emerald?" Gold asked, glancing around the room one more time.

"It's his turn for lookout", Sapphire quickly answered, and removed her hand from the doorknob.

Nodding, Gold became quiet again. For a moment, everyone in the room was silent, no one knowing exactly what to say. Ruby took his hand off the doorknob to the doctor's office, and took a few steps back, which Sapphire quickly followed. After that, Gold figured it was time to request what he wanted to do.

"Hey, that N guy couldn't be waiting outside for this long, right? I really should go find Silver and Green- Wait, they weren't in the announcement, were they?!" he interrupted himself, remembering that it had been dark when he arrived, and it was now bright. It was natural to assume that more than six hours had passed.

"No. There was only one name last night; Pearl. Silver and Green are okay", Kris replied somberly.

"Right. Anyway, I should get going. I promise I'll get back here as soon as possible with them, and we can all work out a plan to get out of here", Gold said, and then glanced around the room. "Err, so, about that gun... I think I'm gonna need one..."

"Oh, well, the only other gun around here belongs to Emerald. We still need the Ingram, but if you want, we could call him down to ask if you could take it?" she offered.

"Sounds good to me. Hey, if he's done with his lookout stuff, he could come along, y'know. It's been way too long since I got the chance to talk to anyone from Hoenn."

Ruby and Sapphire furrowed their brows upon hearing Gold's preference to take Emerald along, but didn't voice their complaints. Kris nodded, unsurprised at the boy's enthusiasm about forming a stronger connection with the others, and hoped that his excitement would rub off X and Faitsu.

Even though the atmosphere was lively around her, Faitsu struggled to act enthusiastic upon seeing Gold return. She had waited long enough to begin N's plan, and since the older boy finally left the room, it would be the ideal time to carry out the plan.

Her one problem was that she didn't know if she was ready. Killing Rakutsu had been difficult enough in terms of emotion, but she was going to try and take down six people. While she didn't care for them all that much, she did feel grateful towards X for fixing her arm. _How am I going to manage to do this?_

"Will I ask him to come down?" Kris asked, diverting the girl's attention.

It was then that Faitsu finally stood up, causing the others to look over in surprise. She continued clutching the end of her shorts, almost afraid to make eye contact with the others in the room.

"Um, I can go up and get him. I can take over lookout duty then, if that's okay", she offered.

"Are you sure you're able to do it?" Kris asked, sounding concerned.

"Yes, definitely! My arm's feeling much better, and Emerald can show me how to hold a gun", Faitsu replied, trying to sound enthusiastic.

"If that's what you want to do..." the older girl muttered, sounding slightly doubtful about the whole idea.

Faitsu decided to take that as her cue to go. She walked away from the waiting area, briefly making eye contact with X. He looked a little concerned, probably due to his concern over whether or not she would be able to hold a gun. She forced a smile for him, hoping that he wouldn't try to stop her.

Brushing past Gold and Kris, she put her hand on the second doorknob, before turning around. Ruby and Sapphire were lost in their own conversation, Gold and Kris were slowly resuming discussion too, and X was still looking on with concern. She took in the peaceful sight. _This is the last time I'll see them all alive, _she thought.

Then, she quickly left the room, wondering why she was dwelling on something like that. If she allowed herself to get attached to the others at that point, there would be no way she would be able to carry out N's plan. She decided that, from that moment onwards, she would no longer care about the fate of those within the clinic.

Faitsu scurried up the steps leading to the balcony, her bad arm dangling by her side. When she reached the balcony, Emerald immediately turned around, lowering the Ingram. He furrowed his brows upon seeing one of the quieter allies standing there, but mustered a smile anyway.

"Hey, what're you doing up here?" he asked.

"Gold wanted to talk to you. Also, while you're gone, I offered to take up lookout duty", she answered quietly, looking at the ground.

"Huh... Alright, better go see what he wants. See you around, Faitsu!" he replied, and began to walk towards the staircase.

Faitsu's eyes widened. She had set up the perfect opportunity for Emerald to leave, but after thinking about her own strategy for many hours, she decided that she would like to isolate at least one person from the rest of the group. If she let him leave now, everything would be ruined.

"Wait!" she called out. Emerald froze.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"Um... I was wondering if you could show me how to hold this. I'm not sure how to, considering..." she trailed off, and held up her bandaged arm to get her message across.

Emerald understood, and walked her over nearer to the barriers. He muttered a few basic instructions as he wrapped one of her hands around the base of the Ingram, and tried to find a position for her injured hand. Once he had settled on a position, he let go, nodding.

"That oughta do it. Anything else you needed?"

"Yeah. Could you stay up here with me for a minute? There's something I want to ask you", Faitsu told him, and turned to face the short boy.

"Yeah? I'm listening."

He seemed genuinely curious as to what she had to say. Turning towards her as well, Faitsu realized that it was the perfect opportunity to fire the gun at him, and knock him out instantly. Still, she wished to delay for a few moments. If she came back downstairs too soon, it would only cause more suspicion.

"Do you really think we can all get off this island together?" she asked. That caused Emerald to grow quiet for a moment, as he ran a hand through his hair, trying to think.

"Well, I think if we come up with a good plan, it could happen. I'm not sure how we're going to do it yet, but as soon as we come up with something, it'll be worth it", he replied.

Emerald stopped grinning upon seeing that Faitsu still looked doubtful. Out of all the people in the clinic, he did figured that she was one of the most pessimistic about escaping. Just as he was about to argue his point further, the girl suddenly spoke up.

"You all keep talking about this plan, but I haven't heard anything about what we're doing to actually _do _yet. Can you really trust a plan like that?" she asked helplessly.

"If we don't, what happens?! I'd really prefer to bet on this than try and kill anyone! Come on, just hold on a little longer. We'll come up with something!"

"I... I really don't think any of your plans are going to work. Even if you manage to come up with something, it'll contradict his, and I can't let that happen", Faitsu spoke quietly, her finger brushing the trigger of the Ingram lightly.

_His?_

It was at the point that Emerald realized something was completely wrong. Taking a few steps back, his back was pressed against the railing of the balcony. He abandoned his attempt to stay calm, and looked at the girl suspiciously. There was one man who was more likely than most that she was allied with, and if he was correct in his assumption, then he was in much more danger than he previously thought.

"What're you talking about? Don't tell me you still trust that guy?! You're starting to scare me", he exclaimed, hoping that he was just jumping to rash conclusions.

For a moment, she stood there quietly, just staring at Emerald with the same helpless look. Even though his heart was racing, and his body was shaking, he didn't dare to move. All he wanted was to hear reassurance from her that he was mistaken, but that reassurance never came.

Instead, the gun that had been by her side was slowly beginning to rise in her hands. That was when Emerald realized that he needed to either get away as soon as possible, or try to find a way to calm her down. Subconsciously, he chose the first option, and placed his left foot in front of his right by an inch.

"_No! _Get away from me!" Faitsu suddenly screamed, sounding absolutely terrified.

"What are you talking about?!" Emerald snapped, but realized all too late.

She had screamed loud enough for anyone to hear what she said. It was the perfect way to worry the others downstairs. Before he could contemplate further on it, Faitsu raised the Ingram, so it was pointed directly at him. Emerald stumbled backwards, his hands once again landing on the bars of the railing.

Then, Faitsu's finger squeezed down on the trigger. Bullets sprayed out of the Ingram, none of which Emerald were able to avoid. All he was able to see was bullets flying towards him at an unavoidable speed, and then he was no longer able to see at all. The first round of bullets hit him directly in the head, killing him instantly.

As Faitsu's hand jerked, the next round of bullets went through his chest, but Emerald didn't feel it. Once she realized that she had killed him instantly, she took her finger off the trigger. The boy slid to the floor, the railing behind him coated in blood. As blood began to drip down from his face towards the floor, Faitsu realized that she couldn't spend too long looking at the horrific sight.

_I've begun this, and I have to keep going. I can't stop now, _she thought, as she hurried down the stairs, her heart pounding. Her hands was still positioned on the gun the way Emerald had showed her, but she briefly removed her good hand to lay it on the doorknob.

Inside the clinic, she could hear muffled, panicked conversation. Judging by Kris' determined and protesting tone, it sounded as if she was going to be the one to check on Emerald. Faitsu knew that she couldn't let Kris leave the room. She had them trapped in the waiting area, and that was how it was going to be.

Taking a deep breath, she turned the doorknob and threw the door open. On the other side of the door, Kris fell backwards, considering she had remained by the door. Gold quickly caught her, and helped her up. They took a few steps away from the door, until Gold's back was pressed against the wall. Kris stood slightly ahead of him.

Ruby and Sapphire looked over with wide eyes towards Faitsu. Ruby took a step in front of Sapphire, immediately spotting the Ingram. Sapphire shook her head and took a step to the side, refusing to let him be a shield.

X remained sitting, but his face had paled considerably, and upon seeing Faitsu, he was unable to hide the shock on his face. He was just as terrified and confused as everyone else within the room. Nobody wanted to accuse her of what those gunshots had been, but they needed to know the full story, and quickly, considering Emerald was nowhere in sight.

"What happened up there?! Those were gunshots, right? You shouted about something, right?" Kris asked in a panicked tone, hoping for a rational explanation.

"Why's there blood on your shirt?!" Sapphire snapped, taking a much more aggressive approach. Ruby looked like he was about to protest, but Faitsu quickly spoke instead.

"I-I went up to get Emerald, a-and he... He tried to hurt me. I got scared, grabbed the gun, and... I..." she stammered, feeling her face grow flushed at her shoddy explanation.

"Faitsu, is he still alive? If he is, we can sort things out", Kris said gently, trying to calm down the younger girl.

Mustering a smile, she took a step forward, hoping to show that she was still there to help the younger girl. She didn't want to believe that Faitsu was capable of killing, but there was so much she didn't understand. _Why would Emerald hurt anyone? He was on board with this!, _she thought, but tried not to let her suspicions get the best of her.

"I don't know! I really-"

"Then I'll go up and check. It mightn't be too late, right?" she continued, trying to keep a gentle tone.

That was when she took a step forward, causing Faitsu to flinch and take a step back. The younger girl then pointed the gun at her, causing Kris to bite her lip, but she resisted falling back towards Gold.

Glancing back over her shoulder, she could see him shaking his head frantically, trying to convince her that it was a bad idea. But, given the way Faitsu was at that moment, she would shoot everyone down unless she was able to be calmed down. _This is all a misunderstanding. If she won't listen, I'll figure something else out._

"You can't go up there!" Faitsu protested, her tone becoming high pitched. Kris' hand, which was just above the doorknob, came to a halt.

"Why not? We need to stay rational", she argued back, taking a step away from the door.

"You'll ruin everything!"

"Kris, look out-" Gold began, but couldn't finish his sentence in time.

Faitsu pulled the trigger once more, her eyes terrified and wide. It was too late when Kris realized that the younger girl had never intended to be a part of their alliance. Turning on her heel, she ran to her left, hoping to escape the bullets.

She managed to avoid many of them, but a few still managed to scrape the right side of her hip, causing the girl to cry out. Her steps became wobbly, and she ended supporting herself by latching onto the nearest thing she could find.

When Kris managed to look up once more, she was surprised to see that she was clutching Gold's arms. The boy was looking down at her with complete dread, which caused her to hold her breath. It didn't take her long to figure out why he looked so terrified, as the sound of the Ingram filled the air once more.

This time, she didn't have the energy to outrun it. She didn't even manage to take a step by the time the bullets sprayed out from the machine gun. The bullets ripped through her abdomen, causing a brief instant of horrendous pain. Kris' hands were still clutched tightly onto Gold's sleeves when she died.

Even though his clothes were splattered in her blood, Gold barely noticed. Instead, all of his attention was focused on Kris. Her lifeless eyes were still fixated on his, and her mouth hung open slightly, revealing how bloody it was on the inside. All of his panic over Faitsu had vanished, replaced by pure shock.

His knees gave away, and he ended up falling to the floor, bringing Kris down with him. She still clutched his sleeves, and he made no attempt to move them. It felt as if the world had been paused, and all that mattered was that he was facing the dead body of one of his best friends.

Faitsu had been looking on in shock, trying to deliberate whether or not she had managed to take down Gold along with Kris. She had continued staring for several seconds, until finally someone spoke up once more.

"You bitch! We could'a solved that without killing, and now you... You're takin' part, aren't you?" Sapphire snarled.

"Sapphire, don't!" Ruby attempted to stop her, and firmly grasped her shoulder. She barely felt his touch.

Barely hearing Ruby's attempts to appease the situation, Faitsu immediately turned around, forgetting about Gold. _Only Lord N and I are allowed to survive. _Thinking that, she put any terrified thoughts of getting into a fight out of her head, and pointed the Ingram at Sapphire, her finger resting on the trigger.

Sapphire stared helplessly at the weapon pointed in her direction. The barrel of the gun looked like an endless black hole, one of which would ensure her death. She had seen how quickly Kris had been killed by the sudden barrage of bullets, and knew that if Faitsu chose to fire at that very moment, there would be no chance of survival.

Faitsu's finger pulled down on the trigger.

In that instant, Sapphire felt herself be forced forward. The pressure that was on her shoulder vanished.

She only realized that she had been pushed once her legs crashed into a chair. Balancing herself, she immediately turned around, noticing that she still heard bullets being fired. Faitsu was still using the Ingram, and the world seemed to slow down once her eyes followed what she was shooting at.

Ruby's body shook as it was being riddled with countless bullets, forming small holes in his outfit. The black outfit made the blood almost unnoticeable, apart from the small sprays that occurred once he was hit with a new bullet. His teeth were gritted, trying to hold back any painful protests he might have had.

Then, his lifeless body slumped to the floor. Faitsu lowered the gun, looking at the puddle of blood that was forming underneath his body. For a moment, Sapphire forgot all about Faitsu.

Instead, she continued walking. She only managed to take three steps before she collapsed to her knees, gazing down at the body of the boy she loved. Her hands, which were trembling violently, slowly reached down, and she held his head.

Almost absentmindedly, Sapphire removed his hat, and brushed her hand over the scar that marked the time he had almost given his life to protect her once before. Then, Sapphire brushed her right hand down along his chest, running over the bullet holes that had formed. New marks to show how he had protected her life once more, except this time, with much worse consequences.

She screamed his name, and held him tighter. Tears began to flow freely down her face, and landed on top of Ruby's head. Her voice was shaky and hysterical, causing Faitsu to lower her gun for a second. She then raised it again, pointing it at the crying girl. She wondered if N would be proud of her for killing out of pity, knowing that Sapphire was in complete misery.

A few feet away from them, X had watched his allies be shot down ruthlessly, unable to step up to help. It still hadn't registered that Faitsu, the girl who had promised to support him, had caused all of this. It had felt like everything had happened too fast, and there was no chance of stopping anything.

Instead, he had just remained terrified, huddled in a corner once again. He had made no attempt to stop any of those tragedies from happening, and reverted back to his old self; hiding away from everything that was going on around him. _If any of my friends were here to see this, they'd be disgusted with me._

It was then X noticed that Faitsu had temporarily stopped shooting to stare down at Sapphire. Glancing over to his right, he saw Emerald's assigned weapon; the shotgun. If there was any time to try and stop Faitsu, it was that moment. She was distracted, and he still had a chance to save at least one person in the clinic.

Reaching over, he grabbed the shotgun, laying one hand on the pump, and the other on the trigger. His heart was racing. He had no idea how he would be able to pull this off, especially when it was this girl. After all, X was beginning to become attached to her, which would make this even more difficult to pull off. It had to be done, though. She had killed, while Sapphire remained innocent.

X pointed the gun towards the girl, taking careful aim. Then, he slid the pump back, preparing a bullet to be fired. The sound was exemplified, considering it was the only one apart from Sapphire's howling. It was enough to cause Faitsu to turn in his direction, immediately noticing the sound.

Her eyes grew wide upon seeing that X, of all people, was pointing a gun at her. Without any hesitation, she pointed the Ingram back at him. Just as his finger brushed against the trigger, Faitsu squeezed down on her own, causing another round of bullets to fire out. As she did so, she closed her eyes and winced. _I'm sorry, X... I think. Out of everyone here, I liked you the most, _she thought, focusing on the sound of the Ingram.

The bullets pulverized X's head. The first bullet that entered and exited his brain had killed him instantly, making the other bullets that entered his body absolutely useless. The shotgun fell from his hands, to the ground. His body slumped down, his face parallel to the floor.

Faitsu finally opened her eyes once more. She bit her lip upon seeing X's body, but knew she had done what N had wanted. There would have been no way he would have allowed X to live, anyway. She decided not to dwell on his death, and instead turned to face Sapphire once more.

The girl was still crying, and seemed unaware that Faitsu had just killed another person. She felt a little more at ease, knowing that this kill would be easier than the others. Pointing the gun at Sapphire, she almost knew this method off the back of her hand by that point.

When she pulled the trigger, however, nothing happened. There was just a click.

Turning pale, Faitsu attempted once more, only to realize that she had used up all her bullets. She tried to think desperately of where she had put her other boxes of bullets, but couldn't decide. There were too many daypacks lying around, and she didn't have time to rummage through them all.

She lowered the gun, and turned away from the crying girl. Sparing a quick glance at Gold, who was still lying motionlessly beside Kris, she simply hoped that the two survivors would remain in their current states until she returned.

Then, Faitsu ran towards the front door, and opened it wide. Still holding onto the gun, she ran out into the open, and looked around frantically, hoping to spot N. She knew that he was plentiful in terms of supplies, including bullets. If he had stuck around, like he promised to, then it would be much quicker to receive supplies off him than rummage around through everyone's daypacks.

"Lord N?! Where are you? Please help me! I need more bullets! Please, come out!" she cried out, turning her head from side to side.

Back inside the clinic, Sapphire attempted to calm herself. Her tears refused to subside, but she knew that sitting around and crying would do nothing to stop Faitsu from causing any further destruction.

Raising her head, she was surprised to see that the girl was gone. _Was I really that out of it?, _she thought, but decided not to dwell too much on it, understanding why she was so out of focus. Besides, the mystery of where Faitsu went didn't last very long. The front door was open.

Sapphire knew that she would have to leave, and fast. Knowing it might be the last time she got a chance to stay in the clinic, she leant down and kissed the top of Ruby's head quickly. More tears began to well up, but she decided the time for mourning wasn't then.

With no further hesitation, she ran towards the front door, only to see that Faitsu had walked less then a few meters away. The younger girl was crying out N's name, trying to find where he was.

"Lord N, please! You said you'd be here! I really need your help... Two are still alive!" she continued to cry out, unaware that one of the two survivors was standing near her.

At that moment, Sapphire felt nothing but seething rage. This girl, who they took in and helped to bandage up, had repaid them in that manner. All she wanted to do was narrow down the majority of the competition, and then run off with her beloved Lord. The worst part was that everyone in the clinic had fallen for it.

Gritting her teeth, she reached into her belt for a certain object. It was the object that Ruby had given her just over a day ago; his assigned weapon. Once she had her hands on the knife, she removed the sheath, and held her breath. For a moment, she continued to listen to Faitsu's cries for help.

Then, Sapphire pounced.

Faitsu never suspected a thing. She continued crying to N for help, trying to hide her impatience. It only registered seconds later that there was someone behind her, and by the time she realized, Sapphire had already caught her.

With her free arm, she held the younger girl's head in an arm lock, quickly cutting off her cries. Then, that only brought on a new type of panic, and Faitsu opened her mouth wide, attempting to make another cry for help.

Staring down at Ruby's killer, she knew that this would be her only opportunity for revenge. She held Faitsu up, and before the young girl could watch the knife, Sapphire drove the knife into the center of Faitsu's chest.

Even after she was stabbed, she looked as if she was attempting to cry for help. Nothing came out except for gargled nonsense. Seeing how terrified and panicked she looked, it only motivated Sapphire to slowly twist the knife further into her chest. Blood dripped down. A deep, crimson stain was spreading across her shirt.

When Faitsu finally stopped making noise, Sapphire pulled the knife out with a grunt. She dropped the girl's body into the grass, where she landed softly. Her shirt became a deeper shade of crimson, but Faitsu never took any notice, as she had died several seconds ago.

Sapphire glared down at the dead body. Faitsu had a helpless, terrified expression, even in death. She couldn't believe that the girl who had ruthlessly killed so many people managed to look tragic. Feeling frustrated at that fact, she swung her foot into the body's side.

Of course, she knew that kicking Faitsu's body would do nothing. She had managed to avenge Ruby, Emerald, and all the others who had died in the clinic.

That was when Sapphire realized that, even though she had gotten revenge, it would do nothing to change the fact that Ruby and Emerald were dead. Even if she managed to survive, she would be living on without the boy she loved, and one of her best friends. A life like that was unimaginable. _Do I even wanna live on after all this?, _she thought, looking back at the clinic.

_Alright, take some time to think this out. There's no way I'm thinking straight right now._

Just as Sapphire prepared to leave, she noticed the other metal glint from beneath her. Leaning down, she picked up Faitsu's Ingram. Then, she walked away, trying to calm her mind. No matter how hard she tried, though, her mind constantly replayed Ruby's death. It was difficult to get thoughts of her future out of her mind, one without Ruby and Emerald.

Unsurprisingly, she realized that she was crying once more. She had no idea what she wanted to do, and thinking of the future was simply unimaginable. There were very few options, and they were all incredibly bleak.

Not wanting to be anywhere near the clinic anymore, she began to run, unsure of where she could go.

**_10 Remaining._**

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><p><em><strong>Author's Note: <strong>_Oh wow, that was tough to write. I really hope it wasn't too unexpected or OOC! I was trying to build up to it for the last few chapters, and I did try to keep everyone in character. Oh, and don't worry about Gold, I'm not going to waste any time in getting back to his story!

Also, the next few chapters are going to be incredibly hectic, with a good few character deaths. If you do stick around, thank you so much!


	41. Chapter 41

Gold had no idea how much time had passed since Kris had died. The loud firing of the Ingram had caused his ears to start ringing, and those deafening rings had made it difficult to hear anything else. Everything had been a blur. He had no idea when the gunfire had started up once more, or when it had stopped.

Eventually, the ringing in his ears died down. There were no more gunshots, but the room's silence was just as overwhelming. The fact that it was this quiet meant either that the others had escaped after seeing Kris die, or they had all suffered similar fates to her. Unsurprisingly, Gold wasn't all that eager to find out.

For a moment, he continued looking at Kris. He hadn't been shocked to see that she was the one to try and set up a large alliance, for the purpose of maintaining trust. It was heartbreaking to know that it had backfired in her face, and she had suffered for her plan in the worst possible way.

His thoughts about Kris were briefly interrupted by a dripping sound, which became clearer as his hearing became better. Considering there wasn't a faucet anywhere in the room, he didn't want to think any deeper about what it potentially was. There wasn't much room for guessing regardless, after realizing that there was an overwhelming stench of blood in the room. He doubted all of it came from the girl in front of him.

Gold knew he couldn't stay sitting forever. Still, he would feel awful about leaving Kris in the state she was. He shook his arms free from her grip. Sitting up, he still kept his eyes fixated on her, not wanting to look around the rest of the room. Bringing one hand down, he slowly closed her eyelids, hoping that it would make her look a little more peaceful.

Then, with some reluctance, he looked away, and stood up. The first thing that he saw, on the opposite side of the room, Ruby's body was sprawled on the floor, and a large puddle of blood had formed beneath him. Bullet holes were riddled throughout his body, but it still hadn't sunken in that one of his juniors had died so brutally. Gold held a hand over his mouth, and tried to resist the urge to collapse to his knees.

Averting his eyes, he then spotted one more body. Although he didn't know the person well, he identified the person as X, who he had just met the previous night. His junior was hunched over in his chair, and his face was hardly recognizable. Blood dripped from his face down onto the floor, causing the small sound that had shaken Gold out of his trance.

_How did this all happen when I was right here?!, _he thought, his eyes darting from body to body. After a few seconds of attempting to take in the scene in front of him, he felt a strange sensation in his mouth. It was then he realized that he had begun to feel nauseous.

Keeping his hand over his mouth, Gold staggered over to the one corner of the room where no bodies lay. He then took his hand away from his mouth, hunched over one of the chairs, and threw up everything he had eaten within the last twelve hours. After coughing up all he could, he stood up again, wiping his mouth and groaning. It was only after that that he realized something wasn't right.

Faitsu and Sapphire were nowhere to be seen.

Raising an eyebrow, Gold momentarily put aside his overwhelming grief. Taking another look around the room, he then spotted something that he had missed the first time in his attempt to look for the other bodies; the front door was wide open. One of them, if not both, had ran away from the scene.

He was reluctant to look for Faitsu, but he was curious to see if Sapphire was still okay. On top of that, it would be too difficult to stay in the clinic for another minute. He had seen enough to scar him for the rest of his life.

Standing up once more, Gold kept his head down as he walked towards the door. Before he approached it fully, though, he looked over at X's body. In his hands was the shotgun that he had requested.

Almost reluctantly, he took it from X's hands, and couldn't help but wonder if things might have turned out differently if he never requested a weapon. Then, he grabbed his daypack, which laid on a chair nearby. He decided that taking along the stun gun might be necessary.

Then, he continued along to the front door. When he reached the door, however, he turned around once more. For the last time, he took a look at his deceased allies.

_I'm so sorry. In the end, I really was useless after all. _Thinking this, he struggled to hold back his tears any longer, and attempted to stop himself from trembling violently as he cried. He had finally found the girl he was closest to, and let her die. He couldn't even look out for those who had their lives severely endangered. _What was the point in me even leaving Silver and Green?!_

Turning around, Gold finally walked outside, and took in a breath of fresh air, never feeling more grateful for it. Slowly, he closed the door behind him, granting the dead some peace. Taking another deep breath, he took a few steps forward, and froze once more.

Faitsu's body was lying a few feet away from the door. There was a gaping hole in the middle of her chest. Her shirt was completely soaked in blood, leaving no allusion about what happened. Although anyone could have killed her, Gold was almost certain that Sapphire had gotten revenge for everyone who had died.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he walked a little further away, not wanting to look at the girl's dead body for another minute. He was torn between feeling sorry for her, or thinking that she had gotten what she had rightfully deserved.

Then, Gold finally remembered one last thing; the start of all this commotion. Faitsu had been up on the balcony alone with Emerald, making everyone wonder whether or not she had successfully killed him. Looking upwards, he already knew the answer, but he wanted to make sure. _Hey, I've already seen about five dead bodies. What's one more to the list?_

He had been right in his assumption. Up on the balcony, Emerald was faced away from him, but there were several bloody holes in his back. He made no movements. While they had all been in the middle of that gory battle, he had died several minutes before all of them.

_Why is all of this happening?! Why did I have to be here for all of it?_

Unable to stop crying, Gold sunk to his knees once more, laying the gun into the grass. He grasped fistfuls of grass, tearing them up out of the ground. He wanted to get back to Silver and Green as soon as possible, but already knew at that moment that he would need more time to adjust himself. At that moment, he didn't even know if that simple task was accomplishable.

* * *

><p>After his encounter with Yellow, Lance had continued on his way, not exactly sure of where to go from that point. For a long time, he still intended on looking around outside, but after examining his map, he had trouble deciding on the next sector to visit, considering nearly everywhere was outdoors on the island.<p>

It took him a while to think, but then he remembered that it had been several hours since his encounter with N. He wasn't exactly sure how much time the other man would need to pull off his plan, but he highly doubted that it would take him over twelve hours to kill any number of people in a small space.

_Also, if he was considerate, he might have left weapons behind for me again, _Lance realized. He then shook his head quickly. _I better not get my hopes up. He's probably still angry over what happened earlier. Shame._

Not dwelling on it too much, Lance continued on in a definitive direction. On his way south, he kept his eyes peeled for N. He decided that if he managed to come across him once more, he would explain that it was all a misunderstanding, and he would let N continue with his plan in peace. The last thing he needed was a gory confrontation with him.

Surprisingly, his journey to the clinic had been a quiet one, and he managed not to run into anybody else. Thankfully, N appeared to be nowhere in sight. Lance realized that either N had abandoned his plan, or it had worked, and he was now on his way to eliminate the rest of the competition. Lance's excitement about finding more weapons, as well as those who were no longer participating, began to grow.

As he came closer to the clinic, he could hear the sound of someone crying. They weren't particularly quiet about it, which gave Lance an opportunity to hide and peek out from bushes to see what was going on. He couldn't hold back a smirk. _I have no idea what N planned to do, but it certainly has to be done by now._

Peeking out through the bushes, Lance spotted someone familiar; Gold. It hadn't been that long since he met the boy outside the program. He recognized him as a friend of Silver's, but decided not to dwell too long on connections he had to participants outside of the program. If he decided to reconsider killing others on the account of his connection to them, then it would guarantee his loss.

Instead, he stood up, reaching for the gun in his belt. Cocking the hammer back, he slowly walked out of the bushes, not particularly caring about the amount of noise he made as he did so. Gold was in too much of a hysterical state to even fight back, he assumed.

When he did approach the clinic, however, it was enough to cause Gold to raise his head. Upon seeing Lance, he squeezed his lips into a thin line, and inched backwards, praying that the shotgun was hidden in the grass.

"Long time, no see", Lance greeted him, raising his free hand. Gold didn't respond.

As the man continued to walk forward, Gold continued to sidle backwards, until his back hit the wall of the clinic. Even though he attempted to glare up at Lance with defiance, he knew it was failing miserably, considering tears were still running down his cheeks.

His attempt to move away form Lance didn't particularly matter, as the redhead was briefly sidetracked. After taking a quick glance to the right, he suddenly realized that there was a body close by. Instead of trying to guess who the person could possibly be, and what happened, he turned towards Gold.

"What happened here?" he asked.

Instead of answering, the younger boy continued glaring up at him. His hands slowly and subtly rummaged through the grass for the shotgun, but suddenly came to a halt when Lance pointed his gun at him.

"I'm curious. Tell me what happened, and you could live. Doesn't that sound nice?" he offered, trying to keep his tone kind. _Yeah, best offer I've ever gotten, _Gold thought, resisting the urge to scoff.

"There was a shootout. A bunch of people died, and I got away. What else d'you need to know?"

"Did you cause this?"

"Are you kidding me? Of course not!" Gold snapped, and then nodded his head towards Faitsu. "She did it all."

Lance looked over at the girl's dead body once more. _So this was N's secret weapon. _He didn't know whether or not N knew that someone had taken care of his one ally. Either way, losing out on that girl would be a major blow to N, considering she had the ability to start a shootout. Lance wanted more details, but decided not to prod any further.

Instead, he concentrated on something else. Someone in that clinic had the ability to murder as well, and judging by the fact that Gold was still alive, with blood on his shirt, brought him to one conclusion. Even though the boy was in a rather shaken up state at that moment, he had proven that he was easily capable of taking down another participant.

"Right, right. Let me ask you something, Gold. Did that girl take someone important away from you?" he asked, almost with a hint of sympathy in his tone.

_Kris. _Gold suddenly remembered her. Kris, the girl who had greeted him so tearfully, yet happily, upon seeing him the previous night. The same girl who had attempted to tune up his attitude towards taking on responsibilities. That girl, who he ended up gaining a crush on, after so many years. That same girl, who was currently lying in a pool of her blood.

"What does it matter to you?" he retorted. Lance glowered at his cold demeanor, but decided not to focus on that too much.

All that mattered was that he knew, at that moment, that Gold had the perfect motive to murder the Faitsu. _Well, N's helped me along the way so far. I could do something in return for him, I suppose._

Lance turned to face Gold once more, pointing the gun at him again. That caused the teenager to tense up, knowing things could easily go downhill fast.

"I heard from another contestant that she was sent here for a certain purpose. You know, if that person just happens to find out that his ally had been murdered _so _brutally, then that person would hunt down her killer, and give them the most brutal death possible. Consider this a favour, if you will!" Lance explained, trying to keep his tone apologetic and generous.

Gold looked on in confusion. When Lance's finger rested on the trigger, however, it finally occurred to him: This man thought that Gold was the one who had killed Faitsu. For some reason, Lance wanted to kill him before N got the chance to find him. _Wait, this isn't fair. I didn't even kill here! None of this is my fault!_

Before he could voice his protests, or do anything to retaliate, Lance pulled the trigger. Grunting, Gold sidled slightly to the side, which was all he could manage in his state of paralyzing fear. Then, a single, deafening shot rang out. A bullet left the gun, and hit Gold towards the left of his stomach. Letting out a cry, he immediately brought his hand to where the bullet had entered. Blood immediately began to leak from the spot.

Quickly glancing up, he saw that Lance was still there, watching to see if whether or not the shot had proven fatal. It was difficult to hold back his groans and cries, but Gold knew it was the only way he would distract Lance.

Instead, he bit down on his lip as hard as possible, and lowered his head. He gasped for a few seconds, in a desperate attempt to take in as many breaths as possible, and then began to hold his breath. Reluctantly, he slowly dropped his hand away from the wound, allowing blood to flow freely.

For a few seconds, Lance looked down at him, trying to decipher whether or not he was actually dead. Considering the bullet had successfully exited Gold's body too, he couldn't possibly live for much longer, even if he wasn't dead at that moment. Regardless of that, he found it uncharacteristic of the boy to go down without putting up much of a fight.

He began to deliberate whether or not it was worth staying to ensure that Gold was truly dead. The more time he spent in the area, the more time he wasted. The number of people on the island was narrowing, and a loud gunshot would attract their attention. The last thing he needed was to gain the attention of the remaining terrified participants, especially since he didn't have enough bullets to take them all down in one go.

He felt a prick of annoyance rise again, remembering the amount of bullets he had wasted while he was attempting to get rid of Pearl. Shaking his head, he decided that waiting by Gold's body wouldn't be any benefit to his further progress in the program. Practicing to fight against tougher opponents would be his main goal from that point onwards.

Turning on his heel, Lance strode away, feeling rather disappointed that his fight against Gold had been so anti-climatic. Nevertheless, an easy opponent was something he shouldn't be complaining about, he decided. He had managed to squeeze in another kill, and that was the most important thing.

A few feet away, Gold raised his head slowly. Lance had fallen for his act. Resisting the urge to smirk, he decided to carry out his own impromptu plan. _I didn't want to do anything, but I know for certain he wants to kill others. I'm doing the right thing, aren't I?_

Deciding not to delay any further, he groped around for the shotgun, until his hand finally curled around it. Then, with all the strength he could muster, Gold stood up once more. _Shit. This isn't going to be subtle._

Even though he would have liked to have tried to sneak up on Lance, the dead weight on his feet seemed to protest against that. Instead, he had to settle for trudging through the grass, his feet dragging on slowly. Luckily, Lance wasn't exactly traveling at a fast pace.

Upon hearing something dragging in the grass behind him, the older man froze. _No. It couldn't possibly be. _Almost incredulously, he began to turn around. However, he ended up reacting far too slow.

Gold raised the shotgun above his head, and drove the butt of it into the back of Lance's neck. Luckily for the redhead, he just about managed to catch on to the fact that Gold had managed to stand back up. He swerved his head slightly to the left, but not far enough. The butt of the gun was still driven into the side of his neck, causing him to fall to the ground, upon becoming victim to such a forceful impact.

Grunting, Lance clutched the back of his neck, trying to take in what had just happened. _How can this be happening?! I shot him! I saw him go down! There's no way he possibly managed to outsmart me!, _he thought. _Why am I delaying? I'm being attacked. I need to retaliate- now._

Just as he attempted to regain his footing, Lance suddenly felt a heavy weight balance on his chest. Raising his head, he almost laughed upon seeing what he saw. Gold had climbed on top of his chest, shotgun poised in his hands. His skin was a deathly pale, and there was blood dripping down from his mouth. The right side of his body, from the wound downwards, was completely red. _How can this be happening? This boy is practically _dead!

Then, it occurred to him that it was more than likely that Gold was at his weakest. Putting out one hand, he reached for his leg. Given his position, it was too awkward to get a proper grip on his leg, and instead of forcefully grabbing it and swiftly tossing Gold to the side, like he had planned, he ended up just weakly pushing away the boy's foot.

Before Lance could make another attempt to push Gold off, the boy quickly raised his foot upwards, and forced it down on top of Lance's neck.

At that moment, Lance never felt more grateful to have a metal collar wrapped around his neck. It deprived most of the blow, but it was still enough to cause him to cough and sputter. His airway felt as if it was closing up. He desperately wanted the sensation to leave as quickly as possible, but it seemed as if his body was dragging out each sensitive reaction to Gold's attacks.

Lance attempted to catch his breath once more. Gold glared down at him, with more ferocity than the older man had ever though he was able to muster. He wanted to move his hands upwards, in an attempt to heal the swelling in his throat, but he knew that Gold was on high alert at that moment. For the first time in quite a while, Lance was too terrified to risk anything.

It still didn't mean that he was willing to accept the fact that his life could end very shortly, especially at the hands of someone he was supposed to have killed. He had been so desperate to prove to the other supervisors that he deserved to stand amongst them instead of fighting out out here. It was an embarrassment to be thought of as being so child-like. All he had wanted was to prove to them that he was much stronger than any of those children.

"Don't you dare", he managed to cough out after several seconds. Gold still had the gun pointed at him, and it didn't take any guesses to realize what he was planning to do.

Gold shook his head weakly. Then, he brought the shotgun down lower, causing Lance to flail underneath him, and attempt to push him away. His eyes grew wide, and he began to scream out helplessly. Paying no attention, Gold pulled the trigger, causing a much louder gunshot to ring throughout the island.

Due to how close the gun had been to his body, the impact was instant. Lance didn't have a moment to react, or to even register the pain running through his body. It had instantly killed him. Perhaps, it was the only way that it could have been done. If Gold hadn't managed to kill him instantly, the possibility of Lance healing himself, and fighting back twice as brutally, was incredibly high.

A gaping hole formed in his torso, revealing his innards. His eyes remained opened wide, as they had seconds before Gold fired the gun. His body looked anything but peaceful in death, but in retrospect, Lance's life had been filled with stress and panic all the way through. Even though he thought of himself as sly and cunning, he was still just as human as everyone else on the island. Seeing that he had been outsmarted was the ultimate fatal blow for him.

Gold stared down blankly at the body for a few more moments, stunned that his quickly decided plan had worked so meticulously. However, he barely had any time to reflect upon how amazingly his plan had gone, or the guilt of taking another human life.

Mere seconds after firing that final gunshot, Gold swayed, and then collapsed onto the ground beside Lance. Panting, he clutched his wound, and curled up slightly. Consciousness was quickly slipping away, and he knew that his actions had reduced his own lifespan significantly.

**_9 Remaining._**

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><p><em><strong>Author's Note: <strong>_I did say things would get hectic!

That aside, I have to say how sorry I am if Lance's death appeared slightly rushed. I honestly did try to think of a way that Lance could be killed, but it was really difficult to have an actual, proper fight, considering he has the advantage of having the ability to heal himself. So, there really wasn't any other way to take care of him other than a direct, sudden kill.

I also feel bad, because I know he was a fan favourite too. I do hope you'll all stick around all the way to the end of the story, though, because I've been tremendously enjoying getting feedback! Thank you again for reading, and I'll try to get the next chapter out as quickly as I can!


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